As the World Falls Down
by morningsofgold777
Summary: Toby has a mysterious sleeping sickness and only a return to the Labyrinth can cure him.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

_The Spellweaver_

'Sarah,' her stepmother said, 'you didn't have to come all this way. Your dissertation is due next week, isn't it?'

'This week.' Sarah corrected, entering the room where her stepmother sat beside a long, white-sheeted bed. 'But I had to come.' Her eyes went to the still form beneath the sheet. 'Toby's my brother, you know. I couldn't just stay in Chicago, not knowing.'

Her stepmother sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily. 'Of course. We should have known you'd take the first flight out of O'Hare. You and Toby have always been close.' She sighed again and looked at Sarah with grim eyes. 'But there's really nothing you can do. There's nothing any of us can do.'

Sarah came further into the room, slipping into the vacant chair beside her stepmother. She would have like to take the woman's hand, to offer what comfort she could, but she didn't. Even though their relationship had improved over the years, it was still not close. Sarah credited the improvement to the fact that she'd gone off to college at age eighteen and had stayed there except for the occasional visit home between semesters and at holidays. If it wasn't for Toby, she wouldn't have even bothered.

'What's exactly wrong with him?' She asked. 'Dad was pretty vague on the phone.'

'He was vague because he didn't have any answers when he called. We still don't. The doctors have run a battery of tests, but they can't find anything wrong with him. There's simply no medical explanation as to why he won't wake up.'

'Won't wake up?' Sarah echoed. 'You mean he's just…sleeping?'

Her stepmother nodded. 'The doctors thought it might be narcolepsy, but his sleep patterns resemble normal sleep.'

Sarah's eyes went to her brother. His breathing was long and deep, peaceful even. There was a slight smile on his mouth as though his dreams were particularly pleasant, and she wondered what he might be seeing in his mind's eye. She'd bet her bottom dollar that it wasn't sugar plums. With a slightly queasy feeling, she hoped they weren't anything like her own at that age.

'How did it happen?' She asked before old memories could crowd into her mind like impatient shoppers the day after Thanksgiving.

She had learned a long time ago to keep _those _memories locked deep within her subconscious. She had even almost convinced herself that they'd never happened, that it was all just a dream conjured up by an over active imagination and too many books.

'Three nights ago he went to bed a healthy twelve year old boy.' Her stepmother was saying, jolting Sarah back to the present. 'The next morning when I tried to wake him for school, he was like this.' She waved a hand at the still figure. 'I thought maybe he'd stayed up late. He often does, reading some book under the covers. He thinks I don't know, but I've seen the flashlight shining through the blankets when I'm passing his room on my way to bed. So I decided to let him sleep, thinking that I'd be able to get him up later on, but when I went in at noon and then again at 4 o'clock, he was still sound to sleep. When your father got home at six, we decided to take him to the hospital, and we've been here ever since.'

There was silence as Sarah digested this piece of information and then she said, 'So what are they going to do?'

'Run a few more tests, and if nothing's conclusive, they'll send him home.' Her stepmother replied. 'A nurse will come in daily to administer fluids and nourishment, but if he doesn't wake up in the next few weeks, we'll be forced to place him in a nursing facility.' There was a little catch in her voice as she said this, and she hurriedly searched for and found a tissue in her pants' pocket. She dabbed at her eyes. 'We simply don't have the means to care for him at home.'

Sarah once again resisted the urge to take her stepmother's hand. Instead she clasped her own together and turned her eyes back upon her brother. He'd lost the baby curls long ago and his hair was no longer blonde but a rich brown like her father's. In a couple more years, he'd be a handsome young man. She frowned worriedly. _Would he still be with them in a couple years if he didn't wake up?_

Oh, Toby, she thought, reaching out to touch his hand lying upon the bed sheet, why am I always losing you? Last time it was a Goblin King and this time…she stopped as an insidious snake of an idea slithered it way around her. Was it just some freak disease he'd contracted or was Jareth up to his old tricks?

Very unlikely, she decided. She hadn't seen the Goblin King since she'd solved his labyrinth. He had disappeared along with her childhood, making her wonder if it had all been a dream. A very vivid dream but a dream nonetheless. As an adult she knew that magical kingdoms did not exist, and that depressed her. Somewhere down deep inside she wanted the Goblin King and his world to be real.

Why? She asked herself that whenever the fog of melancholia settled over her. After all, he hadn't been a very pleasant sort of creature. He'd nearly scared her to death several times, but when she'd seen him framed in those French doors, looking so terrible and so wonderful at the same time, her heart had leapt as strongly as her knees had knocked. If it hadn't been for Toby, maybe…

Suddenly her cell phone rang. Grumbling under her breath, she pulled it out and looked at the number. Damn. She should have known he'd be calling. Giving her stepmother an apologetic glance, she got up and walked out into the hallway.

'Hello?'

'Sarah? It's Paul.'

'Hey, what's up?' She asked as casually as she could.

'Where are you?' He asked. 'I stopped by your apartment and that roommate of yours said you'd up and left this morning without saying a word.'

'I had to go back home. My kid brother's sick.'

'But your dissertation is due this week.'

'I'll get it done. Don't worry about it.'

'Sarah…'

She could hear the lecture coming. Why did he always have to treat her like a child? That was one of the reason she'd broken up with him…that and his hair was too neat. It reminded her of a Ken doll's, molded to his head in perpetual perfection. Unfortunately, he didn't seem understand about hair or what 'we need to see other people' meant. For a man only a couple weeks away from earning a Ph.D. in Psychology he was amazingly dense.

'Look, Paul, I've got to go. We'll talk when I get back. Bye.'

She closed the phone with a satisfying snap…and then turned it off.

Two hours later, she turned her rented Kia into the driveway of the large, sprawling Victorian where she'd grown up. Her dad had insisted she stay with them, and she hadn't argued despite the rather pinched look her stepmother had gotten around her mouth at the suggestion. It had been a long day, and she wasn't in the mood to look for a hotel room. Besides, after buying a plane ticket, her bank account was looking a bit anemic.

The house was completely dark, not a light burned in welcome, but she hadn't been expecting the warm glow of a Currier & Ives Christmas scene. After all, her dad and stepmom were still at the hospital and had been at the hospital virtually non stop for three days. The front porch creaked under the weight of her steps, but it was a comforting sound rather than an alarming one. Those floorboards had creaked since she was a little girl no matter how many times her father had had them replaced.

What she missed the most when she pushed open the front door and walked inside the dark foyer was the lack of happy canine greeting. Merlin, the sheepdog, had died while she'd been away at college, and he'd not been replaced. No doubt her stepmother was glad to be rid of the mess and the smell.

Sarah, you're being catty, she chided herself as she went into the kitchen and started rummaging around the fridge for something to eat. Some people just weren't dog people. She pulled out a jar of mustard and a package of sliced turkey. There wasn't any law against that, was there? No, she decided, settling herself on one of the tall chairs along the kitchen counter, there wasn't any law against it, but it did explain one of the reasons she'd never warmed up to the woman.

It seemed amazing to her that such a great kid like Toby could have come from such a person. But, of course, she'd had a hand in shaping her little brother's character. It was Sarah who had taken care of him in the summer while his mother worked, and it was Sarah who'd given him his first 'grown-up' book. _The Knight's of the Round Table_, she remembered with a smile. When she'd come back for a short visit that summer, he'd insisted on her acting out the book with him. She'd been surprised at how much of it he'd memorized. He hadn't forgotten key verses like she had.

Having finished her meal, she stood and carried her empty plate over to the sink. After she'd placed it in the dishwasher, she grabbed her overnight bag and started up the stairs. She had thought about watching TV until her dad and stepmom came home but decided against it. She was tired. Flying out of O'Hare was always an exhausting experience. It'd be so much easier if she could turn herself into a great white owl and take the direct route, she thought wistfully.

At the top of the stairs, she turned towards Toby's room instead of her own. She didn't know why. Perhaps she just wanted to be close to him. Perhaps somewhere in the back of her mind she hoped to find the answer to his current illness. What do you think you'll find, she asked herself, pushing open the door. An enchanted spindle and an evil fairy godmother with an attitude?

If that was what she was hoping for, she was sadly mistaken. There was no blood-stained spindle, no fairy godmother. There was nothing but the normal clutter found in a twelve year old boy's room. She was about to turn away when her eyes fell on the shelf above his bed. Sitting in a patch of moonlight was Lancelot.

Delighted to see her old childhood friend, she walked over and picked up the bear. The feel of its scratchy fur made her smile, and she rubbed the bear against her cheek as she let her eyes wandered around the rest of his room, looking for other treasures.

On his bedside table was a worn, red-bound book. Like sister like brother, she thought, putting Lancelot back on the shelf before picking up the book. She turned the cover toward the light coming through the window so she could read the title. _The Spellweaver_. Well, at least, it wasn't _Labyrinth_. She put the book back on the table and just out of curiously pulled open the nightstand drawer. A smile touched her lips when she saw a flashlight.

She was pushing the drawer shut when a noise caught her attention. It wasn't much of a noise, just a whisper of movement really, but in the silence of the house, it sounded deafening, and she whirled around, a hand going to her throat. She nearly laughed out loud when she saw a cat sitting on the windowsill, twitching its tail. It was sleek and white like a Siamese but without the dark ears and face. Around its neck was a glittering rhinestone-studded collar with one large green stone hanging from it.

So her stepmother was a cat person. Figures, she thought, walking over to the cat to pet it. But before she could, the cat hissed, flashing out a paw and catching Sarah's hand with its claws.

'Why you nasty little beast.' She muttered, putting her injured hand to her mouth. The cat had drawn blood. With a brute like that roaming the house she'd make sure to close her door. With one last look at the cat, she turned to leave.

'I've not given you permission to leave the room, Sarah Williams.'

Sarah's heart jumped but then calmed as she realized the voice belonged to a woman, not a man. Nonetheless, a woman shouldn't be talking to her, not in an empty house and not in that imperialistic tone and certainly not in Toby's bedroom. She turned around with a sense of dread snaking its way up her spine.

Never had Sarah seen such a beautiful creature as the one standing where the cat had once sat. She was tall and slender, like a beech tree, her arms and hands as delicate as new shoots, her eyes almond-shaped and slanted at the corners. A gown of shimmering green, like a cascade of leaves, clung to her body, and her hair, hanging in a thick braid to her waist, was silver-white. Around her neck was a rhinestone-studded collar with one large green stone hanging from it. Feeling those cat-like eyes on her, Sarah suddenly knew how a mouse must feel.

'I don't need permission to leave.' The woman who had once been the girl who'd come through hardships untold to defeat the Goblin King was not about to cower. 'This is my house, and you're a trespasser in it.'

'Bold words.' The woman said. 'But I was expecting as much and so I'm prepared to be generous.'

Generous, Sarah fumed. Why did all these strange creatures think themselves generous when they were nothing but tyrants?

'Who are you and what are you doing in my brother's bedroom?'

'I am Morwenna, the Queen of the Dark Wood.' There was a pause and then she added, 'I'm also a spellweaver.'

'A spellweaver?' Sarah echoed. 'What's that? A fancy name for a witch?'

'I am not a witch.' Morwenna declared. 'I am a spellweaver. I am not much different than your Jareth in that respect.'

'He is not _my_ Jareth.' Sarah hastily corrected. 'I barely know the Goblin King.'

'What you say may be true as far as you're aware.' The woman conceded with a nod of her brilliant head. 'But he is most definitely _your_ Jareth.' She tilted her head to one side and studied Sarah with narrowed eyes. 'And I think you are his although your will is too strong to admit it.'

That's it. She'd had enough. She wasn't about to discuss her relationship with the Goblin King with this mysterious woman who called herself a queen. What in the world am I saying, Sarah asked herself. She didn't even _have_ a relationship with the Goblin King.

'Look,' Sarah said impatiently, 'I've just flown hundreds of miles to get here, my little brother is sick, and I'm too old to believe in you or the Dark Wood or whatever you call it. Either tell me what you want or I'm leaving.' She paused and then said with deliberate force. '_You have no power over me._'

'Perhaps not.' Morwenna conceded. 'But I do have power over your little brother.'

Sarah frowned as that feeling of dread tightened, nearly choking her.

'What do you mean?' Her voice sounded hoarse.

Morwenna smiled. She knew she held the ace. 'Your brother is not sick, not in the usual sense of the word. He's merely asleep like Rip Van Winkle and Sleeping Beauty. The spell doesn't harm the victim. They are quite content to dream. They love the dream in fact and never want to leave it. But for those who love them, it's most distressing, especially as they watch the loved one waste away, becoming just a shadow of their former selves. And so they are. The longer they sleep, the more a part of the dream they become. Soon they and the dream are one.' She looked at Sarah, her cat eyes glinting. 'Are you willing to let that happen, Sarah Williams? Are you willing to let your brother become a Dreamshadow?'

Sarah didn't even protest. Instead she asked grimly. 'What do you want me to do?'

Having gained her attention, Morwenna now seemed to want to take her good old time laying down the terms of the deal. She sashayed across the room and settled herself upon the rumpled cover of Toby's bed. She motioned to Sarah to take a seat in a nearby desk chair, but when she remained standing, Morwenna shrugged her graceful shoulders as though to say 'suit yourself, you stubborn creature'. Then her fingers went to the stone in her collar and she began to speak.

'The underground is at war.' She declared. 'I want the Goblin Kingdom, and Jareth is refusing to release his claim to it. We've been at war for many years although he was not aware of it. His attention was,' She flicked her eyes over Sarah, 'elsewhere. I admit that I was… annoyed. To be ignored so he could play games with a little girl was incredible, but I soon realized my good fortune. When this chit of a girl defeated his labyrinth, I knew I'd found my ally. I knew that you could deliver his kingdom into my hands.'

'Isn't the Dark Wood enough for you?'

'If you knew anything about royalty, you'd know that one kingdom is never enough. A king or queen is not great unless they rule everything, and I, Sarah Williams, intend to be great.'

'If you are so great,' Sarah interjected, 'then defeat him yourself.'

From the look on Morwenna's face, it was clear she had hit a nerve. The cat eyes became hard and her lips thinned into a tight line. At that moment she did not look nearly as beautiful as she first had.

'I cannot.' The Queen of the Dark Wood stated. 'His power is too strong.'

'Then I certainly can't.' Sarah declared with a laugh. 'I have no power at all.'

'That is where you're wrong, Sarah Williams. You have more power than any of us.' When she said nothing, Morwenna continued, a slow smile spreading across her face as if Sarah's ignorance amused her. 'Every castle, every fortified structure has a weak spot, and that, my precious thing, is the key to its defeat. When I heard that the Goblin King had offered a human girl her every dream, had reordered time for her and had vowed to be her slave if she only feared and loved him, I knew.' The cat eyes glowed triumphantly. 'I knew it was only a matter of time before I possessed the Goblin City.'

'I don't understand.' Sarah said, shaking her head. 'I don't understand what you want me to do.'

'It's very simple. I want you to discover the source of his power.'

Sarah looked at the strange creature as though she'd lost her mind. 'He'd never tell me that.'

'Oh, but I think he will. With the right encouragement.'

'So what you're asking me to do is to gain his trust, somehow, and then betray him.'

'Finally.' Morwenna murmured. 'A glimmer of the intelligence you had as a girl.'

Sarah ignored the insult. 'I won't do it. It's not right.'

'Not right?' The Queen of the Dark Wood repeated. 'Was it right stealing a baby and then doing everything in one's power, cheating even, to stop the sister from retrieving it? Your world has a phrase from such things, my precious. It's called turn about's fair play.'

'He was only doing what I asked him to do.'

Morwenna stared at her with speculative eyes. 'You sound as though you actually _liked_ him.'

'I…I suppose I did…in a way.'

'Yet you turned him down.'

'I had to have my brother back.'

'Then you shouldn't have any problem doing what I'm asking you to do.' Morwenna said, uncurling herself from the bed. 'If you want your brother back, you'll discover the Goblin King's secret for me. Otherwise,' she slunk, catlike, over to the window, 'Toby, dear thing, will become a dreamshadow.' She fingered the green stone on her collar. 'And the longer you delay, the longer he sleeps. If he sleeps too long, even I won't be able to wake him up.'

And with those words a white cat slipped out the window into the darkness beyond.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

_Such a Fooled Heart_

'Master!' Rum-Pot called excitedly.

'What is it?' Jareth asked absently, his attention on the maps on the table before him. He tapped his riding crop against his boot thoughtfully. If he moved his goblins in that direction and posted a sentry…

'She's calling again!' The little goblin declared happily.

'_Who's_ calling?' The Goblin King asked coldly.

'The _girl_!' Rum-Pot said deliriously, hopping from foot to foot. 'The girl who solved your labyrinth. She's calling for you.'

'Calling for me?' Jareth repeated. 'Impossible.'

Yet he knew it wasn't. He'd heard her calling over and over again. He'd felt the physical tug of the calls. He was resisting the power he'd given her all those years ago by not going to her, and it was becoming as exhausting as it had been living up to her expectations. He had hoped she'd give up, but he should have known she wouldn't. Hadn't she proven her dogged persistence all those years ago? Damn her precious hide.

'Not impossible.' Rum-Pot tittered. 'She's calling right now.'

Jareth pulled the goblin off the floor by his ears, which didn't hurt the little fellow since goblins had no feeling in their ears, and glared menacingly at him. 'If I hear one more word about that blasted girl and her infernal calling, I'll throw you straight into the bog of the eternal stench for a fortnight. You understand, Rum-Blot?'

'Rum-Pot.' The little goblin corrected.

'Go on!' Jareth ordered, dropping the goblin back onto the floor. 'Get out of here and take those bloody chickens with you.' He aimed his riding crop at a fat hen that had taken roost upon his maps. The chicken squawked and went scurrying away.

'Yes, Master.' Rum-Pot giggled, stuffing the hen beneath his arm and shooing three more out the door.

Jareth sighed as the door banged shut. What a life he lived. Trapped in a castle with goblins and chickens and the occasional pig on a lead. It was enough to make a Goblin King cry. And now Sarah had suddenly decided to get vocal. He'd waited ten years for her to call him, and she chose _now _of all times to open that beautiful…luscious…kissable mouth of hers.

Damn her! If ear plugs would help, he'd conjure up a case of them, but as it was, her call wasn't just external. It was internal. It was a part of him, echoing through every molecule of his being so that he felt like a drum, vibrating, humming with every syllable she uttered. Oh, why had he given her such power?

With an angry swipe of his arm, he sent the maps flying. He'd get no work done until he answered her infernal caterwauling. But this time he'd not be so generous. This time she'd find out just how cruel he could be. He was finished being her doormat.

Sarah was on the point of despair when the great white owl appeared in the tree outside her bedroom.

They'd brought Toby home a week ago and still there was no change. If anything he was paler and weaker and…happier. His dreams must be very pleasant indeed, and that alarmed Sarah, making her redouble her efforts to summon the Goblin King. Night after night she called but he did not appear. She'd even read _The Spellweaver_, hoping to find a way to summon Morwenna so she could explain to her that her 'key' was no 'key' at all. The Goblin King had changed the lock.

She was sitting on her bed, head in her hands, when a shadow, a flutter of movement across the floor caught her attention. She looked up and through the panes of her window saw the great owl. Unlike the first time, he did not beat again and again against the glass, demanding entry. Instead he just sat perched in the tree, staring at her. If an owl could be displeased, this one certainly was.

Did he want an invitation, she wondered, getting up and going over to the window. She unlocked the latch and raised the pane. A cool breeze floated inside, bringing with it the smell of decaying leaves. It was late October, nearly Halloween, she remembered as she stood back, waiting to see what the owl would do.

He didn't do anything. He just sat there, looking more like a stone statue than a living, breathing thing. Sarah's temper flared, and she turned away, stalking across the room. Of all the ungenerous…she stopped for a stronger breeze had just blown in, lifting her hair about her face. It didn't smell of dried leaves; it smelled of…magic?

She whirled around and saw him standing just inside the window, looking very large and very menacing in her small room. If he had been generous ten years ago, she could see that he had no intention of being so now. The cruel curl of his lips and the hard glint in his eyes foretold a difficult path ahead. But, she reminded herself, he _had_ come, and that knowledge gave her the courage to speak.

'You came.'

'I had to.' He retorted. 'You were unsettling my goblins. The throne room has been in a bloody uproar for nearly a week now. I couldn't get any work done.'

'I'm sorry.' She took a step forward then stopped, a silly grin breaking across her face. 'So I wasn't imaging you all those years ago. You _are _real.'

'What do want of me, Sarah?' Jareth demanded, clearly not in the mood for reminiscences. 'I'm a very busy Goblin King, and I haven't got time for silly school girl fairytales.'

That stung, causing her to retort hotly. 'I'm not a school girl any longer.'

He ran his eyes up and down her body. 'Yes, I can see that. Put on a bit of weight, haven't you? In all the right places, of course. Come now. Out with it. Why have you summoned me here? Have you got another baby you want to get rid of? I apologize, but I'm no longer in that line of business. You'll have to call Rumplestiltskin. Shall I give you his number?'

'I haven't got a baby.'

'Such a pity. A husband, then? Some insipid fellow you lead about by the nose?'

'No.'

'Then why have you called me?'

'It's Toby.'

'Ah, yes, the baby brother. I should have known. He was all you could think of ten years ago. Don't tell me you want me to take him away again. I'm afraid I can't do that. I have a no return policy.'

'I don't want you to take him away.' Sarah said between clenched teeth. 'But I do need your help.'

'How amusing.'

'It's not amusing at all.' She retorted hotly. 'I seriously need your help.'

'Why not asked those funny little friends of yours?' He asked offhandedly. 'Higgle and that scruffy fox-like creature. Sir Deadmouse, wasn't it?'

'Sir Didymus. And you forgot Ludo.'

'Ah, yes, the fellow with the rocks. He did quite a number on my goblins with those things.' He looked at her mockingly. 'Well, Sarah? Why not call them? They did an admirable job in my labyrinth.'

Sarah struggled to keep her temper in check. He was being deliberately provoking. He always had been mocking, but now his taunts were even sharper, cutting deep. He seemed to instinctively know that her friends couldn't help her, that only he had sufficient power to solve her dilemma, that she needed him, not Hoggle or Ludo or Sir Didymus, but _him_. Did he want to hear her say it? Obviously he did. For Toby she'd swallow her pride and told him what he wanted to hear.

'It's you I need, Goblin King.' She said quietly.

She had expected him to smile in that self-satisfied way of his, to preen, to swish his cloak around like a pleased cat swishing its tail after a kill, but he didn't. Instead he scowled fiercely. She took an involuntary step backwards, her old fear of him returning.

'Don't say it unless you mean it.'

His words felt like a slap in the face. She searched for a response. 'I…'

He waved an impatient hand, silencing her. 'What's wrong with this brother of yours?'

'If you'll follow me, I'll show you.'

He looked annoyed at the request, but he followed her out of the room and down the hallway to Toby's room. Fortunately he'd made his appearance on a night when her dad and stepmom were out or she might have had a hard time explaining the mysterious stranger roaming the hallways of their house. Would they have believed a punk rocker boyfriend, she wondered, pushing the door open.

Toby was exactly where she'd left him earlier that evening, lying beneath the covers of his bed, sleeping soundly. His bedside lamp was on low, providing just enough light to see his delicate features. Jareth walked up to the bedside and stared down at the boy, hands on hips.

'It's very simple.' He said, glancing up at Sarah. 'It's a sleeping spell.'

'Can you break it?'

'Only the person who placed the spell can remove it.' He told her. 'I cannot help you, Sarah.'

'Then,' she looked at him with imploring eyes, 'what should I do?'

'Find the person who placed the spell and persuade them to remove it.'

'But I would need to go to the underground to do that.'

His eyes narrowed. 'What makes you think the person responsible for this is a resident of the underground?'

'Because of this.'

She took the red-bound book from the bedside table and held it out to him. He took it, glanced at the title and then flung it aside.

'Why people write this trash is beyond me.' He muttered. 'It gives children very dangerous ideas. I'm surprised at you, Sarah. You ought to know better.'

'I didn't give it to him!'

'But you've given him others. Ah, ah, don't deny it.' He said before she could claim her innocence. 'I've seen you, Sarah. I've seen the books you've given him. I've seen you acting out King Arthur's Court under the oak trees in the park. If your brother has annoyed someone in the underground, you are partly to blame.'

'You've seen me?' Sarah asked, surprised. She had thought he'd forgotten her. 'But the owl…I haven't seen the great white owl for years.'

'Do you think I'm limited to feathers and talons?' He asked as though the thought of such a thing was ludicrous.

'I…I don't know what I thought.' She admitted. 'I guess I thought you'd forgotten me.'

He didn't answer her. Instead he turned and stalked over to the doorway.

'Do you know the Spellweaver?' She asked quickly, hoping to detain him. He couldn't go yet.

'I know several.' He told her, keeping his back to her. 'As a matter of fact, I'm at war with one right now.'

'Who's winning?'

He turned to face her, and for the first time that evening, he smiled. 'You've seen the fighting ability of the goblins. What do you think?'

'The spellweaver.'

'Goblins are very good at eating and drinking and pinging chickens,' Jareth said bitterly, 'but they're terribly inefficient when it comes to battles. I don't know why I put up with the nasty little buggers. For company, I suppose.'

There was so much unspoken loneliness in that last sentence that Sarah's heart squeezed. Was the Goblin King lonely? The idea had never occurred to her. He seemed so impervious, so self-sufficient. He didn't seem the type to need anyone or anything.

'Fortunately,' he continued, 'the survival of the kingdom doesn't depend on goblins.'

'What does it depend on?'

He looked at her, his eyes dark and hooded. 'It depends upon me and only me.' He abruptly turned away again. 'I wish you luck, Sarah.'

'Wait!' She cried, reaching out a hand to touch his arm.

It felt hard and powerful beneath her fingers, and she shivered. She'd never willingly touched the Goblin King before. Yes, she had danced with him, but she'd been so confused, so bemused, so consumed by the look in his eyes that she barely remembered how it had felt to be within the circle of his arms. She quickly removed her hand, putting in behind her back.

'Still frightened of me, Sarah?' He asked softly.

'You asked me to fear you, didn't you?'

'I asked for more than that.'

She licked her lips nervously. His eyes followed the movement. 'If you,' she faltered under the intensity of his gaze and tried again, 'if you help me find Toby's spellweaver, I would find it difficult to deny you any request.'

Her words hung between them, heavy with unspoken promise.

'Then,' he said slowly, softly, his eyeteeth glinting in the light, 'it's a good thing for you that my original offer has expired.'

As she watched, wide-eyed and strangely breathless, he backed into the shadows of the hallway and disappeared. By the time she found the courage to follow him, he was gone. Only the curtains fluttering in her room was any evidence that he'd even been there.

So, she wondered, dropping onto the bed, where did that leave things? Would he help her or not? She had basically given him a blank check, to write his own rules, his own requirements and she'd gladly comply. But he'd left with only a mocking reference to his first offer, saying it had expired. What did that mean? She rubbed her forehead. He was such a bewildering Goblin King.

When she'd called him, she had hoped that he'd be able to remove the spell. She had no desire to carry out Morwenna's devious plan. The thought of deliberately betraying the Goblin King scared the hell out of her. She couldn't even imagine what he'd do when he discovered her perfidy. Drown her in the bog of eternal stench, no doubt. And besides, double crossing someone just wasn't a part of her nature. It was…dishonorable. And if you cared even a little for that person…well, she suddenly knew how Hoggle must have felt when he'd been forced to give her that peach. Simply dreadful.

Jareth sat in the wide, open window of his castle bedroom, his back against the hard stone, arms draped over his raised knees, fingers clenching and unclenching on the riding crop. Rarely, if ever, had he found himself so torn. Decisions had always come easily to him. He was the king, the supreme ruler. He did whatever he pleased. Consequences didn't matter because someone else had always paid them. But that had changed ten years ago when a young girl had solved his labyrinth and turned his world upside down.

He had _thought _he'd known how to get what he wanted. When you wanted something in the underground, you took it. He had taken the baby because she'd asked him to. Then he'd been generous and given her the opportunity to win it back. Of course, it had always been his intention to give the child back. He'd had no use for a baby. And when she'd failed, he'd be generous again by offering to return the baby in exchange for her staying in its place. It had been a brilliant plan. Unfortunately, it's been contingent on her failing.

When she hadn't failed, he'd had to be honest, as honest as a Goblin King could be that is, and reveal what their little game had really been about. He'd wanted her reverence, her love and her obedience, and he'd been willing to pay for it. She could have had all her dreams. Compared to that, _he had asked for so little._

But she had turned him down.

And now, years later, the boot was on the other foot. The roles had been reversed. Now she was offering him all his dreams in exchange for his help. She had basically agreed to anything he wanted. It was exactly the kind of deal a Goblin King would jump at. So why was he so reluctant to accept?

Because he'd be a bloody fool to let Sarah anywhere near him or his labyrinth. Would he like revenge on her? Of course, what Goblin King wouldn't? It was in his nature to strike back when struck, but he knew himself too well. He could not trust himself to carry it through to its bitter end. Sarah had too much power over him.

It had taken him ten years to learn to live without her, and even then, he'd cheated, returning to the aboveground in the form of a raven so as not to arouse her suspicions. In that form, he'd had the questionable privilege of witnessing her first kiss. He'd found nothing pleasant about watching _his_ Sarah rolling around on a couch with a pimple-faced twit. So he'd taken action to break it up. A few minutes of tapping on her parents' bedroom window had awakened her father who had gone downstairs for a glass of milk. Shortly thereafter, the twit had been seen running from the house.

Getting rid of that Music major in college had not been as easy. She'd been living with him. In the end, he'd had to turn one of his goblins into a chesty co-ed with an 'out of this world' singing voice to distract the fellow. Then he had sat outside Sarah's bedroom window, listening to her cry her heart out, telling himself that it'd been for the best. Anyone lured away by a goblin in drag couldn't be the man for Sarah.

Jareth tapped his cheek with the whip. You know, he really must do something about retrieving his goblin. Last time he'd checked, Dreeble was on tour, singing rock ballads in a black leather corset. But first things first. He had to make a decision about Sarah. Pride, hard and unrelenting, told him to deny her request. It was not in his nature to give second chances. But another part of him…

A knock came at the door, and Hoggle walked in carrying a tray.

'What happened to Rum-Bottom?' Jareth demanded, uncurling himself from the window and stalking over to the table where Hoggle had placed a napkin-covered plate.

'He had a little accident this afternoon. I offered to fill in for him, seeing as how I was already in the castle. Came for m'wages, you know.'

'Set himself on fire again, did he?'

'Not this time. Mugwart did it for him. They were juggling firepots. Now, about my wages…'

'Wages?' Jareth said indignantly. 'Wages for what?'

'Faerie control. I sprayed half an acre this week, and at 10 bob a head, that's…' Hoggle made a showing of calculating the amount in his head but then gave up since he'd never been any good at figures, 'quite a lot, I suspect.'

'Mercenary little scab, aren't you?' Jareth sneered. When Hoggle started to protest, he waved his crop impatiently. 'Very well, if all you can think about is money, go see Pinchfingers. He'll pay you.'

But Hoggle didn't leave as he'd expected him to. Instead he had the impertinence to remain standing by the table, tray held behind his back, shuffling from foot to foot. Anger flared inside of the Goblin King and he would have sent the cheeky little toad straight to the bog if he hadn't suddenly remembered something. Hoggle had been a particular friend of Sarah's. Perhaps…well, perhaps…

Clamping down on his anger, Jareth asked. 'What is it, Hogwart?'

Hoggle looked uncomfortable but said. 'There's a rumor in the city, just a rumor, mind you,' he hastily assured when the Goblin King scowled, 'that you might have…' he stopped, losing his nerve.

'Might have what?' Jareth demanded. 'Come now. Out with it.'

'That you might have visited the little lady a couple of nights ago.' Hoggle finished in a rush.

There was a long pause before Jareth answered. His voice held the quiet deadliness of a venomous snake. 'If I did, what concern is that of yours?'

Hoggle shuffled from side to side again, his eyes on the floor. 'I was just wondering how…how she was.'

'Don't you know? I thought you were a particular friend of hers.'

'I was.' Hoggle declared and then hastily corrected himself. 'I mean, I am.'

'When's the last time you saw her, Higgle?' Jareth asked almost casually as he turned and stalked back to the window.

From outside came the sound of deep booms followed by cheers. It was too much to hope for that the goblins were actually engaging the creatures of the Dark Wood in battle. He'd wager all his crystals that they were shooting pumpkins out of cannons again. He didn't know the purpose of it, hadn't even bothered asking, but it seemed to amuse the goblins immensely.

'It's been…' Hoggle tried counting his fingers and gave up on that too. 'She stopped calling for us shortly after she went to something she called a prom.'

Jareth knew exactly when that was. It was during the reign of the pimple-faced twit. 'Have you ever talked to her brother?'

'You mean the baby?' Hoggle exclaimed.

Jareth swung around. 'He's no longer a baby, Hogwart. Humans age much faster than we do. He looks about twelve.'

'You saw him?'

'It would appear that someone's gone and put a sleeping spell on him.'

Hoggle's eyes widened. 'So that's why she called. She needs our help.'

'Not _our_ help. _My_ help.'

Jareth savored that little detail like a man savoring a fine brandy. It was his particular treasure, his delight and he wasn't above rubbing Hoggle's nose in it. How many times had he sat in that bloody tree, watching as she laughed and played with all her friends from the labyrinth? Only he had been excluded.

'You _are_ going to help her, right?

'I haven't decided yet.' Jareth left the window and began stalking about the room, his boots ringing against the stone floor, his long frock coat swishing angrily. Finally, he whirled around, pinning Hoggle with a hard stare. 'Tell me, Hogwart. If you were a king, a very generous king, and you had offered a certain girl all her dearest dreams yet she turned you down, what would you do if years later she came looking for your help?'

'Do I care about this certain girl?'

'What does that have to do with anything?'

'Well,' Hoggle said slowly, 'if I cared about her, I would help her.'

'Why?'

'Because I cared about her.'

Jareth rubbed the bridge of his nose with one gloved hand. 'Hoggle, you make my head hurt, but,' he said as the dwarf opened his mouth to explain himself, 'I'll give her one week.'

'One week isn't much time to find a spellweaver.'

'Anyone who can solve my labyrinth in thirteen hours can find a spellweaver in one hundred and sixty-eight.'

'One hundred and sixty-eight what?'

'Alright, if you going to whine and snivel about it, I'll give her a week and three days.'

'That's very…'

Hoggle was about to say generous when Jareth interrupted again.

'Alright, alright, a week and five days, but that's my final offer.'

'Shall I go tell the little lady?' Hoggle asked eagerly. It'd been a long time since he'd been aboveground or seen Sarah.

'No.' Jareth said with emphasis. 'I will deliver the happy news myself.' He walked over to the table, lifted the napkin covering the plate with his riding crop and scowled. 'Is that all those goblins eat? Chicken gizzards and more chicken gizzards. Take it away, Higgle, take it away.'

Once Hoggle had reloaded the tray and left, Jareth wandered back over to his window. The sun had sunk below the Dark Wood, which bordered his kingdom to the west. Bonfires were flickering among the oaks and hawthorns, reminding him that he was at war and shouldn't be letting anyone into his kingdom, let alone a distraction like Sarah Williams.

Still, he thought as he stepped onto the window ledge, as long as he lived there was no real hope of Morwenna taking over his kingdom. His power was too strong, and she knew it. All she could do was menace his borders and scare the bog out of a few goblins.

As he winged his way toward the moon, which glowed like a giant's big yellow eye, his thoughts drifted back to Hoggle_. If I cared about her, I would help her._ Is that why he was on his way to retrieve the ungrateful woman, he wondered. Because he cared about her? He'd always known he wanted her and only her, no one else would do, but did he care about her? Such a thing was foreign territory for a Goblin King, but obviously he felt something more than desire. Why else would he be bringing her back to the underground without any strings attached?

Frowning, he dipped toward the ground. Sarah's house was just over that wooded ridge of rolling hills. He had to attach some kind of string otherwise she'd be suspicious. He had to live up to her expectations of him, didn't he? He had to be suitably threatening, suitably frightening. He must demand something in exchange for his help. But what he wanted, he could not demand; she must give it freely. He'd learned that the first time. So what was a Goblin King to do?

He was still mulling this annoying detail over in his head when he landed on Sarah's windowsill. The window was open. How convenient. Was she waiting for him, hoping he'd come? Within seconds, he was standing inside her room as he'd done on many occasions over the years. Silently, he moved over to her bed and stood staring down at her, his eyes holding a longing he was unaware of.

How beautiful she was. More beautiful than she'd been as a girl. As he was told her earlier, age had filled her out in all the right places. She wore a pair of hideous flannel pajamas, but even they couldn't disguise the gentle swell of womanly breasts. They rose and fell with each breath, and he was gratified to see that she preferred sleeping on her back, giving him an unobstructed view. Her hair, a dark cloud around her face, lay across the pillow like an inky stain.

He came closer, blocking out the moonlight that had draped itself across her bed. She murmured as though aware of the sudden shadow.

'Shhh, my precious thing.' He whispered, passing his gloved hand over her eyes. 'Shall I give you a dream, my dove?' He extended his hand. Instantly a crystal globe appeared. He smiled when he saw the scene inside. As adult she could certainly handle stronger stuff than a dark waltz. 'Dream, my Sarah. Dream and when you awake, you'll be where you've always belonged.'

Her breathing became deeper and a smile curved her lips. Sliding his arms under her back and knees, he lifted. She lay against him, not moving, not stirring. She was under his sleeping spell and would sleep until he released her.

Something giggled and he glanced down at the bed.

'Don't do anything she wouldn't do.' He told the pointy-eared goblin sitting among the bed clothes.

With a wave of his hand the goblin became the sleeping form of Sarah. Then he walked over to the window, and they were in the air, soaring toward the yellow eye.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

_The Return_

Sarah woke slowly, almost reluctantly. The dream had been so vivid, so…she squirmed beneath the sheets…_sensual_. She hadn't had a dream that real since…her eyes popped open, and she gasped. She was no longer in her bedroom. She was lying in a massive, four poster bed with faeries carved along the headboard. Above her was a canopy of gauzy white material. It lifted and fluttered from the breeze coming through the wide, open windows.

She sat up and gasped again, clutching at the lavender sheets. What had happened to her pajamas? She knew she hadn't gone to bed in the wisp of white silk and lace she was currently wearing. It showed far too much skin for her comfort.

'You're awake! Good! Good!'

Sarah looked around but saw no one.

'Down here.'

She followed the sound of the voice and found a small, pointy face looking at her over the foot of the bed. It looked like a goblin but wasn't. Or, Sarah thought uneasily, at least it wasn't a male goblin for it had long red hair plaited into two thick braids and was wearing a dress under a chainmail vest. Other than that there wasn't much difference. It was ugly, short and grimy-looking.

'Who are you?'

'Tipper.' The creature declared. 'Jareth sent me to look after you. Tipper's to be your,' she screwed up her face, tapping a stubby finger against her head, 'now what did he call it? Lady…lady mail?'

'Lady's maid.' Sarah suggested.

Tipper nodded enthusiastically. 'That's it, that's it. Laaaadeeee's maid.'

'Have you ever been a lady's maid?'

'Nope.' Tipper replied. 'Never been a lady in the king's castle.' She looked at Sarah like a perplexed dog. 'What do I do?'

'Well,' Sarah said, scooting toward the side of the bed, dragging the covers with her, 'you help me dress…'

'Tipper can do that! Tipper can do that!' Tipper sang out, jumping off the chest she'd been standing on at the foot of the bed and racing over to a massive wardrobe. She flung open the doors, dancing from foot to foot. 'Lots of pretty dresses!'

Sarah stared, wide-eyed. Tipper had understated the truth. There weren't lots of pretty dressed; there were so many they practically burst out of the wardrobe like blooms eager for the sun. They shimmered like gauzy jewels, reds, greens, purples, pinks, blues, every color in the rainbow, some changing colors like translucent opals.

'Pick! Pick!' Tipper caroled.

'I…I can't.' Sarah said, overwhelmed. 'You pick.'

'This one! This one!' The little creature called, pulling at a dark green skirt until it fell off its hanger onto her head. 'Tipper likes green. Looks like yummy slime.'

'Ah, yes.' Sarah agreed, taking the dress from the goblin and holding it up. It was beautiful despite the comparison with pond scum.

Somehow, even with the goblin's help, she managed to get dressed. Not only had she been provided with a multitude of dresses, but Tipper had unearthed a dresser full of underclothes as well, frothy panties and bras that made Sarah blush. She was used to wearing something more serviceable. On a research assistant's salary she got more for her money with plain and simple than fun and frivolous. Apparently money was no object with Jareth.

Finally she was ready to leave the bedroom. Tipper had protested, telling her that the Goblin King had ordered her to stay where he'd put her, but Sarah wasn't afraid of Jareth…at least not when he wasn't in the room with her. Besides, she needed to talk to him, to find out what exactly the terms were for her stay in the underground. He might have thought to mention those before he absconded with her in the middle of the night, she thought as she made her way through the stone corridor outside her room.

Within a few minutes she was hopelessly lost. The corridors were nearly as confusing as the hall of stairs that he'd led her too all those years ago. They twisted and turned and sometimes turned out to be dead ends. Some were like roundabouts, converging on a central dais and then branching off in other directions. She could almost swear that they changed each time she looped back onto them. In the end, she found her way to the throne room by following her ears and her nose. Obviously she had arrived close to lunch time for the smell of roasting pork was quite strong, overpowering even.

She'd never actually been in the throne room when it was full of goblins, and she wasn't quite prepared for what she saw. It was like a large playroom, she decided, standing at the entrance, hands on hips as she watched the ribald and rather destructive behavior of its inhabitants. Goblins laughed, goblins belched, goblins threw burning pots back and forth, goblins pinged chickens and guzzled kegs of strong-smelling ale. It was worse than the worse tailgate party she'd ever attended. How could Jareth tolerate such behavior?

Suddenly a fat, little goblin wearing a horned hat landed at her feet. He looked up at her with red eyes.

'Lady Sawa!' He exclaimed in a voice that surely could have been heard in the aboveground as well as all over the underground.

Immediately every goblin in the throne room froze, coming to attention like a bunch of slovenly tin soldiers.

'Uh, where is the Goblin King?' Sarah asked, feeling a little self-conscious with every eye on her.

'In the war room, Milady.' The goblin answered. 'Shall I take you there, yes, yes?'

She didn't like the eagerness in his expression. It was almost lecherous, she thought uneasily. But after studying him for a moment or two, she changed her mind. It was just a result of his nose going down and his mustache going up when he smiled. He's a goblin for goodness sake, she scolded herself. You don't expect him to look like an adorable puppy, do you?

'Yes, please.' She finally replied.

He took hold of her skirt and started tugging her across the throne room. After tripping over a sleeping pig and stepping in something that might have been a plate of food, they reached the other side of the room where a large, elaborately carved oak door shut the throne room off from the room beyond.

'He's in there.' The goblin informed her.

'Aren't you going to announce me?' Sarah asked.

The goblin shook him head, which sent the horned hat spinning like a top. 'Uh-uh. He's in a bad mood. He might turn Rum-Top into a princess.'

Sarah could tell by his expression that he couldn't think of anything more repulsive than being a princess. So she grasped the large iron ring attached to the center of the door with both hands and pulled. To her surprise, it opened easily, whispering smoothly on its hinges. Unfortunately, it did not close as quietly. It banged shut, the force of it nearly sending her tumbling forward onto her knees.

'What have I told you about closing that door, Rum-Blot!' Jareth roared from the other side of the room where he was leaning over a massive wood table. 'One more bang like that and it's pumpkin carriages and glass slippers for you.'

'It's not Rum-Pot.' Sarah stated, suddenly feeling much less confident than she had been when she'd left her room. 'It's…it's Sarah.'

There was a long, heavy pause, and then Jareth slowly turned in his chair. He looked more casual than she'd ever seen him. He was dressed in boots, dark trousers and a long-sleeved, open-necked shirt with lace at the cuffs.

'Sarah,' he murmured, his lips twisting into a mocking smile, 'awake at last?'

She just stared at him. He got up and walked toward her, stopping just inches from her. He touched her chin, and she was surprised to feel the smooth slipperiness of leather. He still wore gloves.

'You're quite the sleepyhead.' He noted. 'It's nearly noon.'

Sarah glanced at the clock behind his shoulder. It was the same one she'd seen in the dream waltz bubble. Her eyes went back to his. He smiled, showing pointy eyeteeth.

'Pleasant dreams?' He asked.

She blushed, remembering her dream of the night before. There'd been a man in it, and it wasn't until now, staring into his mismatched eyes, that she realized the man had been him…or very much like him. His smile deepened, becoming almost a caress, and she suddenly knew that he knew everything about that dream. Like the dream waltz, he'd been right there with her, experiencing it all. The…what had Hoggle called him? Oh, yeah, the rat.

'I can't remember.' She told him airily.

'You lie beautifully.' He replied, releasing her chin to take a step backward. He ran an appraising eye over her. 'Mmmm, much better. I have excellent taste, don't I?'

'They're very beautiful.' She allowed. 'But I would feel more comfortable in my own clothing. Especially my pajamas.'

'I'm sure you would.' He agreed, leaving her to walk back to his table. 'But as long as you're a guest in the underground, you'll wear what I provide.'

'Is that part of the deal?' She asked.

'What deal?' His attention was back on the papers.

Sarah clasped her hands together and said with forced cheerfulness. 'The deal we made in order for me to return to the underground.'

'I don't remember any deal.'

His voice was distant as though his mind was elsewhere, and obviously it was, she thought with some irritation. He had one booted foot propped up on the chair while he leaned over the papers, studying them intently, a frown on his face. He had dismissed her, but Sarah wasn't ready to be dismissed. She boldly walked across the room and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder, trying to see what he was so interested in.

They're maps, she realized with surprise. She had thought he'd been looking at papers, but they were actually thick, yellowed parchments. At the top of the parchment was drawn an elaborate N to indicate direction. Under that to the west was drawn a castle surrounded by a wall with the words 'Goblin City' printed in a fanciful medieval hand. Opposite the Goblin City was what looked like puffy clouds but underneath, again written in the fanciful hand, was 'Dark Wood'.

So that was where Morwenna reigned. She knew it had to be close. At some point Toby must have found his way into the Dark Wood and met the Queen. Sarah had scoured _The Spellweaver_ for the answer to how he'd done it but had found nothing. The secret for now was locked within his mind. If only she could find a way to remove the spell without having to carry out Morwenna's plot. But Jareth had said it was impossible.

'Is that the kingdom of the spellweaver that you're at war with?' She asked.

Jareth glanced over at her and said somewhat irritably. 'Don't you have a spellweaver of your own to find?'

'Who knows?' She said with a forced laugh. 'They might be one in the same.'

He straightened up, looking at her with narrowed eyes. He stared at her so long and so hard that for a moment she thought she'd blown everything. She should have kept her mouth shut. Giving him the idea that their spellweaver were the same was not a good idea, especially if he began to wonder how she could know such a thing. Jareth might be arrogant, but he was no fool.

Finally he said. 'I've only given you one week and five days to find your spellweaver. I suggest you stop concerning yourself with mine and work at finding yours.'

A week and five days, she thought in dismay. How in the world would she be able to discover his secret in that amount of time, especially when he seemed intent on getting rid of her? Maybe finding a remedy to the spell would be the less impossible of the two options.

'I don't know much about spellweavers. Where do you suggest I start?'

'You might try the library.' He said, turning back to his maps. 'There are census books in there. They list every spellweaver in the underground for five hundred years.'

Five hundred years! She turned and walked with reluctant feet toward the door.

'Oh, and Sarah?' He called.

She turned back eagerly. Anything was preferable to searching through five hundred years of census records. 'Yes?'

'Dinner's at eight. Topper will show you the way to the dining room. And don't be late. I can't abide cold food.'

'Tipper.' She corrected with a flounce of green skirts.

His laughter followed her from the room and all the way down the corridor to the library.

The library when she finally found it was massive just like everything else in the castle. It was also covered with a great deal of dust. It was obvious that this room hadn't been visited in many, many years. It's only saving grace was that it was completely free of goblins.

Rolling up her sleeves, she got busy. First she pulled out several thick tomes with the word 'Census' printed along the spine in gold leaf. If Jareth bothered himself to check, she wanted to make sure it looked as though she was searching for a spellweaver. Arranging the books on a dust-encrusted desk, she searched the drawers until she found some very old paper. It nearly disintegrated in her hands.

Then she searched for and found a quill pen, which mysteriously looked like it had once been apart of a great white owl, and a pot of ink. That's when she ran into her first dilemma. The ink was so old that it had dried up into a dark, little clump at the bottom of the pot. No amount of jabbing it with the quill would shift it. With an annoyed little cry, she threw it across the room, and then leaned against the desk, arms crossed, trying to control her temper.

This would never do, she decided. Wasting her time in a dusty, ill-supplied library while Jareth's deadline continued to tick away was getting her nowhere. Damn the Goblin King! Why was he always placing time limits on everything? She needed a plan, and the way she looked at it she only had two options. Either find a way to remove the spell without Morwenna or discover the source of Jareth's power.

Her eyes went to the rows and rows of books. They reached nearly to the ceiling. There must be a book of spells and remedy to spells in that mess, but it would take hours, days even, to go through every volume. She could really use the help of her friends right now, and for the first time since returning, she wondered about Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus. She hadn't called on them since she was seventeen. Would they come now if she called? Were they still alive? She would ask Jareth that evening at dinner. He would certainly know what had become of them. Goblin Kings knew about everything that went on in their kingdoms.

Until then, she'd better get busy looking for a book of spells for she didn't even want to consider the other option. Double-crossing the Goblin King sent a dread like nothing else she'd ever felt coursing up and down her spine. There _had_ to be another way.

The deadly quiet that hung over the dining room was almost palpable. It sat on all the occupants except one like a heavy lead weight. Rum-Pot looked at Babineaux who in turn looked at Bladderhorn who completed the circle by looking at Rum-Pot. Then all three looked at Jareth who sat at the head of the massive, oak table, tapping his crop against the leg of his chair in time with the ticking of the great clock above the mantel. A fire, which had taken four and twenty goblins to light, burned merrily in the hearth. Indeed it was the only occupant of the room that showed any cheerfulness as the clock continued to tick.

Tick…tick…tick…tap…tap…TAP…

Finally Rum-Pot ventured forward. 'Uh, Master, the soup's...'

'The soup's what?' Jareth demanded, pinning Rum-Pot with a cold stare.

'It's getting cold.'

'That's usually what happens when it sits for an hour.' Jareth retorted.

'Maybe someone should…' Bladderhorn began and then clamped his mouth shut when Jareth's cold gaze swung to him.

'Should what?'

'Go look for the lady.' Babineaux offered.

He always had been a bit more stupid than the other goblins. Bladderhorn covered his ears and Rum-Pot covered his eyes as they waited for the Goblin King to deliver his answer.

To their surprise he said in a most amicable manner. 'Excellent suggestion, Babu. I shall go directly.'

As soon as he was in the corridor and out of the view of his goblins, Jareth produced a crystal.

'Show me, Sarah.' He ordered.

Instantly a form appeared within the sphere. He frowned as he tried to make out what she was doing. She seemed to be hanging half on and half off a ladder. A ladder? Where in the bog had she found a ladder, and why would she need one to find a bloody spellweaver? He peered closer and saw what looked like books in the dim behind her. She was still in the library when he'd told her not to be late for dinner. So much for his request that she do what he said. She obeyed about as well as a cat.

With a wave of his hand the crystal was gone and he was stalking down the corridor, his boots ringing against the stone floor. In the dining room, where three goblins remained on duty, it was decided that it sounded more like the drums of war than footsteps.

Sarah's fingertips had just touched the spine of the book when the door of the library crashed open. It hit the wall with a bang that made her jump, and since she was already halfway off the ladder, it was only natural that such a movement would dislodge her altogether. She hung for a moment from the ladder by one hand and then she was falling, but instead of hitting the floor in a hard rush, she floated lightly down as though sat down by an invisible hand.

She turned as soon as her feet touched the ground. Jareth was standing in the doorway, looking very large and very angry in a magnificent coat of burgundy velvet, lace at his throat and cuffs. He swung his riding crop back and forth like an angry tail.

'I would say thank you,' she retorted, 'but it's your fault I fell off.'

He ignored her and demanded. 'Do you know what time it is?'

Sarah sent a furtive glance around the room. No clocks, of course. She glanced at the one large window. It was dark outside, but she hadn't even noticed because whether day or night, it was dim and shadowed in the library. Mostly due to the dust and grim encrusting the glass panes. She'd had to light candles at midday just so she could see what she was doing.

'Evening?' She guessed, offering a smile.

'Have you forgotten that dinner was at eight?'

'Is it eight already?'

'No.' He clipped. 'It's nine.'

'How time flies.'

It was obvious that he was not impressed by her attempt at humor. 'Do you have any idea how difficult, how nearly impossible it is to organize goblins into serving a five course dinner?'

Suddenly Sarah felt contrite. She had no idea he was going to go to so much trouble.

'I'm sorry.' She said. 'It's just that you have such fascinating books here.'

'Do I?'

'Oh, yes,' she assured him, 'I've never been in a library like this one. It's wonderful. There are books on alchemy and spell casting and underground folklore. Did you know that you really _can_ turn lead into gold?' She picked up a book lying on a faded brocade chair, flipped through the pages and then held it out to him. 'See? It's right here.'

'There's nothing special about that.' He said dismissively. 'I can turn a goblin into gold if I want to.'

'Well, things don't work that way in the aboveground.' She told him, a little irked that he wasn't as excited about her discovery as she was. 'Finding a recipe that can really turn lead into gold is a big deal up there.'

'Then I can't see why you're so attached to the place.' He replied coolly. 'It sounds dreadfully dull.' When she didn't answer but turned away to replace the book, he asked with casual indifference. 'Have you found your spellweaver?'

'No.' She admitted. 'But I did find a book of spells, which might prove promising.'

'I told you, Sarah, only the person who placed the spell can remove it.'

'Are you sure?' She asked. 'There's a book here that says a spellmaster can break spells. Do you know of any spellmasters in the underground?'

There was a long silence in which Sarah wondered if he was going to answer at all, but finally he said. 'I know of only one, but he's very old and a long way off. I don't know if he's even still alive. It's quite possible that he's already become part of the mountain by now.'

'Part of the mountain?' Sarah echoed, puzzled. 'What do you mean?'

'When a spellmaster dies, he becomes part of the surroundings in which he lives. If he lives in a forest, he becomes a tree, a great oak or a hawthorn; if a mountain, a piece of the mountain itself, an outcropping or great boulder. Don't ask me why.' He warned when he saw the question in her eyes. 'It's just the way it is. We do not question such things.'

'Ok.' Sarah said. 'I'll take your word for it, that this spellmaster might be a rock or something, but if there's a chance that he's not…'

'Sarah,' Jareth said, slashing across her enthusiasm like a machete through bamboo, 'to get to the Western Mountains you have to travel through the Dark Wood. It is not an easy journey at the best of times.'

'I've got experience in difficult journeys.' She quipped.

He knew exactly what she was referring to and said coldly. 'My labyrinth wasn't hostile towards you. The Dark Wood will be.'

'Not hostile?' Sarah exclaimed. 'What do you call cleaners and poisoned peaches?'

'My labyrinth would have never harmed you. I wouldn't have allowed it.' He left the doorway, circled the desk and came to a stop a couple feet from her. 'I simply made my labyrinth be what you wanted it to be. Did it live up to your expectations?'

Suddenly she felt rather breathless even though there was just as much air in the room as there had been a moment ago. The look in his eyes seemed to be squeezing the breath out of her.

'It,' she stopped and tried again, 'it was all I had dreamed it to be.'

'And me?' He asked softly. 'Did I meet your expectations?'

She swallowed hard. 'Yes.'

He smiled and then turned away, walking over to the empty fireplace that dominated one side of the room. Suddenly a fire burst to life in the blackened hearth. 'Are you hungry?'

She considered his question. 'Yes, I guess I am. I've been in here all afternoon.'

'Then come dine with me.' He held out a gloved hand.

'But what about,' she made a motion toward the doorway, 'the five course meal?'

'Believe me,' he said, 'you won't be missing anything. Everything the goblins make tastes like a bog.'

She hesitated and then put her hand in his. Instantly a table covered with white linen and blue china appeared before the fire as well as two dark blue armchairs. With a wave of his hand, one of the chairs moved, and he settled her in it before taking his own seat across the table.

'What would you care to eat?

She said the first thing that came into her mind. 'Pizza.'

He did an admirable job at hiding his grimace of distaste. No matter what he thought of her choice, he complied, waving a hand and producing a pizza on the table before them.

'And to drink?'

She looked at the glasses on the table. They were meant for wine, not beer. She cast a quick glance at Jareth from beneath her lashes. He was wearing an expression of resignation. He expected her to say beer and was dreading it.

'Wine?'

'Excellent choice.'

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Jareth using his knife and fork, Sarah using her fingers. She had never seen someone eat a pizza with knife and fork before, at the bars around the university is was unheard of, but somehow it suited him to do so.

'Goblin King,' she said after she had finished her second piece of pizza.

'Jareth.' He corrected.

'Jareth,' she amended, 'what's happened to my friends?'

'You mean after you stopped calling for them?'

His question sounded like an accusation and she responded somewhat hotly. 'I grew up. I couldn't live in a fairytale forever.'

'You could have.' He replied coolly before saying. 'I believe the fox-like creature went back to guarding his bog, and the big one with the rocks went back to the mountains. His kind always comes with the mountains.' He picked up his wineglass, took a sip and then said with a weary sigh. 'And Hoggle, mercenary little scab that he is, went back to spraying faeries in the labyrinth. No doubt you'll be running into him soon. Tomorrow is pay day, and he never misses pay day.'

Sarah felt a bubble of excitement rise within her. Surely Hoggle would be up to a journey through the Dark Wood to see a spellmaster, especially after she explained to him the reason why it was so important. And, Sir Didymus, that courageous little fellow would certainly relish the opportunity for more heroics. She was sorry to hear that Ludo had left the labyrinth, but she was glad that he'd returned to place where he felt more comfortable, a place where he wouldn't be tormented by goblins.

'I would think carefully before involving your friends in a dangerous quest, Sarah.' Jareth said over his wineglass. 'Are you willing for them to come to harm on your account?'

She glanced up. 'I don't know what you mean.'

'I think you do.' Rising from his chair, he held out a hand. 'Dance with me.'

'In the library?' She asked, glancing around. 'There's not much room.'

He looked down at her with dark, unreadable eyes. 'Come now, Sarah, haven't you learned yet that nothing is impossible in the underground?'

His eyes compelled her, promised her and she rose as if in a dream and placed her hand in his. He led her to the middle of the room, slid an arm around her waist and pulled her into the steps of a waltz. Slowly with each step, each turn, the desk, the fireplace with its merry fire, the rows upon rows of books began to fade until they were gone.

Sarah glanced up at Jareth, and he began to sing, and as he sung the darkness around them took shape. Tree emerged, willows with their branches dripping nearly to the ground, and then a riot of rose bushes, their blooms painted silver in moonlight. Around them and in and out of the willows lights twinkled. To her surprise and delight she saw that they were fireflies, larger and brighter than the ones aboveground.

In the middle of the garden in which they danced appeared a tiered fountain. It splashed and gurgled and in its water she saw her reflection for the first time since leaving the library. Gone was the dusty green dress. She now wore a blue ball grown trimmed in silver thread, and her hair was swept atop her head, dark ringlets bobbing with each turn.

Her eyes went to Jareth's. He smiled and suddenly they were dancing within the fountain itself. Either they'd gotten smaller or the fountain larger, but they were twirling beneath the petal-shaped tiers as water rained down around them, encasing them in a misty green-blue world. It was like dancing beneath a waterfall, she mused.

But Jareth's voice was fading, becoming softer and softer and when it ceased altogether, they were back in the library, brushing up against piles of books and musty curtains.

'How did you do that?' Sarah asked, staring up at Jareth's with wide eyes.

'Magic.' He answered with a cryptic smile.

'No, really,' she persisted, 'how do you do it? Were you born with this ability or did you learn it?'

He released her and stepped away. 'You ask too many questions, Sarah. As a girl, you simply believed.'

Still she persisted. 'Could I learn it?'

'With proper instruction.'

'Will you teach me?'

Somewhere a clock struck the hour.

'There won't be enough time.' He told her, backing away into the shadows. 'You only have a week and,' he stopped, listening for the twelfth bong of the clock, 'four days.'

He was fading fast, leaving her.

'Wait!' She called, reaching out a hand. This time it missed, her hand clutching nothing but air.

'Goodnight, Sarah.' Jareth said softly. 'Pleasant dreams.'


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_Another Quest_

When Sarah awoke the next morning she half expected to be back in her bedroom in her father's house so it was with surprise and delight that she opened her eyes to see the white canopy fluttering above her and Tipper's homely face looking down at her.

'What time is it?' She asked.

'Morning.' Tipper replied.

'I know it's morning.' Sarah said, leaping out of bed and heading for the wardrobe. She was eager to get to the labyrinth and find Hoggle. 'I mean what _time_ is it. You know, 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, that sort of thing.'

'Don't know.' Tipper said, shrugging. 'Tipper can't read.'

Sarah stopped and turned to look at her. 'Can't read?'

'None of the goblins can read.' Tipper informed her.

'You're kidding.' Sarah exclaimed. 'None of you?'

'None of us.'

Well, that explained the dusty library, Sarah thought, reaching her hand into the wardrobe and pulling out the first thing it touched. Out came a pink ball gown embroidered with seed pearls. No, not that. Not for the labyrinth. She reached in again and this time pulled out a simple dress of dark blue velvet.

She held it up against herself as she looked into the mirror attached to the wardrobe door. It would have to do. Jareth had conveniently forgotten to provide jeans. Her choice of footwear as equally depressing. She would have preferred a hardy pair of tennis shoes to slippers.

'Would you like to learn how to read?' Sarah asked as Tipper tugged the dress down over her head.

'Nope.'

'Why not?'

'Tipper has better things to do.'

'Like what?'

'Pinging chickens, tossing pumpkins, drinking ale. Lots of things.'

Sarah gave up. Apparently female goblins enjoyed the same pursuits as the males. She suspected she'd get the same reaction from Rum-Pot as she had from Tipper. Reading was not a highly sought after skill. But it was such a shame to let that fine library continue to molder away. Perhaps if she spoke to Jareth, he would order them to read. She nearly laughed at the idea. There was no way Jareth would want his goblins learning how to cast spells and turn lead into gold. Talk about anarchy.

'I need to get to the labyrinth fast.' She told Tipper as she shoved her feet into the sturdiest pair of slippers she could find. 'What do you suggest?'

The goblin thought for a moment and then smiled a toothy grin. 'Follow me.'

She led Sarah out into the hallway and then down a corridor until they came to a large chest with gargoyles on each corner sitting between two suits of tarnished armor.

Tipper lifted the lid of the chest. 'Shortcut.'

Sarah glanced inside. All she could see was the top of what appeared to be a ladder. She looked at Tipper. 'Where does it go?'

'To the labyrinth.' Tipper said as though she wasn't very bright. 'You said you wanted to go to the labyrinth.'

Sarah shrugged and slung one leg over the side of the chest. It didn't look like it led anywhere but down a hole, but she had to remember that things were never as they appeared in the underground. Her toe settled on a rung and then the rest of her body followed until nothing but her head remained outside the chest. She began to climb one rung at a time.

The lower she went, the darker it became, and she wished she'd had the good sense to bring a lantern. She glanced up and saw light. Tipper was still holding the lid open, staring down at her, but soon, even that light disappeared, becoming nothing more than a pinpoint. She suddenly felt claustrophobic and bit her lip to keep from crying out. Courage, Sarah, she admonished herself, forcing herself to keep climbing down into the darkness. This hole _must_ lead somewhere.

And with that thought her feet hit solid ground. Now what? She felt the walls with her hands. They were dry and felt like the gardening pots her friend, Allison, was always planting flowers in. She continued feeling along the wall until she felt a circular ridge about the size of a saucer. She pushed at it, and it moved. Finally, after three or four direct hits, it gave away and light streamed into the hole where she stood.

She blinked momentarily and then smiled when she saw a familiar sight. Hoggle was standing with his back to her, holding a spray gun. He had his head cocked to one side, listening, and then he sprang, firing a puff of mist at a translucent pair of wings. A faerie fell to the ground, coughing.

'Gotcha!' Hoggle said triumphantly.

'Hoggle!' Sarah called.

He spun around. 'Who's that?'

'It's me!' She shouted. 'Sarah!'

'Sarah?' Hoggle echoed. 'Where are you?'

'Over here!' She said, shoving an arm through the opening and waving madly. 'I'm in here!'

Hoggle shuffled over, putting his eye to the opening. 'What are you doing in a flower pot?'

'I didn't know I was in a flower pot.' She replied. 'Can you get me out?'

'Hold on a second. Let me have a look.'

Sarah waited impatiently as Hoggle examined the situation. He seemed to take a great deal of time doing so, walking back and forth, rubbing his chin, muttering to himself before he finally took hold of something and pulled. There was a scraping sound and suddenly a larger hole was opened up, allowing Sarah to climb out into the sunshine. She didn't even bother to wonder how going down a tunnel in the castle could bring her to a flower pot in the labyrinth. She was just happy to be out.

'Oh, thank you, Hoggle!' She exclaimed, giving him a hug.

'No need to get mushy. I only opened a flower pot.' He said, batting her away.

'Still as grouchy as ever.' Sarah said with a smile. 'Some things never change.'

He eyed her suspiciously. 'You've changed.'

'I've grown up.'

'Hmpf.' He muttered. 'I liked you better the way you was.'

'I'm sorry, Hoggle.' She said. 'I couldn't help it, you know. It just happens.'

'If you'd stay in the underground, you'd be exactly the same.'

'I had to go back. You know that.'

'You didn't _have_ to.' He pointed out. 'Jareth wanted you to stay.'

'Yes and be his subject.' She retorted, crossing her arms and walking a few paces off. She still remembered his words. _Fear me, love me, do as I say_. Those weren't words of love; they were words of conquest. 'He wanted to rule me, Hoggle.'

'Nothing wrong with that.' Hoggle told her. 'He rules all of us. It's not so bad as long as you don't attract his attention.'

'I couldn't very well not to that.' She said.

'No, I don't suppose you could. As his queen, he's bound to notice you.'

'He didn't want a queen.' Sarah said with a snort. 'He wanted a vassal.'

'I'm no fan of Jareth's,' Hoggle began, 'but after you left…'

'Oh, let's not talk about the Goblin King anymore.' Sarah interrupted, turning around and walking back over to where Hoggle still stood beside the flower pot. She looked down at him. 'I need you ask you a favor, Hoggle.'

'What kind of favor?' The dwarf asked warily.

'I,' she paused for a moment, suddenly uncertain how to ask a favor of a friend she hadn't made an effort to see in ages, 'I know I haven't been much of a friend lately. I haven't called for you or Ludo or Sir Didymus in a very long time, but if you still consider yourself my friend, I could really use your help right now.'

There was a silence in which the words Hoggle had spoken years ago seemed to hang in the air around them. _If you should need us…_

'My help?' Hoggle finally asked, his tone gruff. 'What can I do? I haven't got Jareth's power.'

'I don't need his power. Not now.' She replied. 'I just need a friend, someone who will help me find the cure.'

'What cure?'

'It's Toby, Hoggle. He's very ill. A spellweaver has put a sleeping spell on him, and if I don't find a cure soon, he'll become a dreamshadow. I found a book in the library yesterday that said a spellmaster could remove spells. I've asked Jareth, and he says that a spellmaster used to live in the Western Mountains. I've got to go see him.'

Hoggle suddenly looked uneasy. 'But you have to go through the Dark Wood to get to the Western Mountains.'

'So?'

'So Jareth's at war with the Queen of the Dark Wood. It ain't safe.'

Sarah frowned. 'That's what Jareth said.'

'For once, he's right.' Hoggle declared.

'Oh, Hoggle, not you too.'

'Take it from me, Sarah, it ain't safe.'

'How bad can this place be?' She asked, hands on hips. 'It's just a wood.'

Hoggle looked scandalized. 'It's not just a 'wood'. It's the Dark Wood. And when I say 'dark', I mean 'dark'. It's always night within the Wood, even when it's midday everywhere else. And there's all kind of terrible creatures that live in there.' He added. 'If the elves don't get you, the Medusa will. She'll turn you to stone with one look.'

'Medusa?' Sarah repeated with a laugh. 'Why that's just a myth.'

'Maybe where you come from but not here.' Hoggle insisted. 'She's real alright. If you don't believe me, ask Jareth.'

'I'd prefer not to ask the Goblin King anything.'

'He warned you not to go, didn't he?'

Her lips firmed into a straight line. 'So you're not going to help me?'

Hoggle kicked at a tuff of dirt. 'I didn't say that.'

She smiled and reached out to hug him again. 'I _knew_ I could count on you. What about Sir Didymus? Do you think he's up to another adventure?'

'There's only one way to find out.' Hoggle said. 'Ask him.'

An hour or so later, they were crossing the bridge that Sir Didymus had so valiantly guarded. The bog was as smelly as she remembered it to be, and she hoped their interview with the little fox would be brief and to the point. She knelt down and knocked on the door of his little house. No answer. Not even a bark from Ambrosia.

She turned to tell Hoggle that it appeared that their friend was out when she was suddenly attacked from behind.

'Ah-ha!' Sir Didymus cried. 'Be gone from here, ye giant!'

'Sir Didymus!' She cried. 'It's me! Sarah!'

'Milady?' The fox said, jumping from her shoulders to the ground. 'Is it really you?'

'Yes, it's me.'

Sir Didymus bowed low, flourishing his hat. 'Welcome, Milady. Please forgive me for the attack upon your person. I didn't recognize you. You've changed.'

'So I've been told.' Sarah said, casting a glance at Hoggle who shuffled his feet and looked away. 'I forgive you. The mistake was understandable.'

Having received her forgiveness, Sir Didymus popped back up and looked at her inquisitively. 'What blessed occasion has brought you to my humble dwelling after so many years?

'I'm about to embark on a quest…' she started.

'Say no more.' Sir Didymus interrupted. 'Where are we going?'

'To the Western Mountains.'

'Did you say the Western Mountains?' The fox's voice had lost some of its enthusiasm.

'Yes.'

'But that's through the Dark Wood.'

'I know.'

Sir Didymus looked from side to side before leaning forward and saying in a conspiratorial tone. 'It's very dark in there.'

'Are you afraid of the dark, Sir Didymus?' Sarah asked.

The little fox seemed to bristle with offense. 'I? Scared? Preposterous.'

'Then you'll be going with us tomorrow?'

Sir Didymus hesitated, casting a furtive glance toward his house. '_That_ rather depends on Ambrosia.'

'I'm confident that you can convince him.' Sarah said with a flattering smile. 'I'm sure a valiant knight like you wouldn't want to miss out of such a worthy quest. If I don't go to the mountains and see a spellmaster that lives there, my little brother will be turned into a dreamshadow. I must find a cure before it's too late.'

Guilt began to grow within her as she watched the little fox wavering. She wasn't being completely honest with her old friends. She hadn't come to the underground to find a cure. She'd come to betray Jareth to the Queen of the very woods they were so reluctant to enter. What would they say if they knew? How she longed to tell them, to avail herself of their counsel, but she knew she couldn't. First of all, she didn't know who was listening, Jareth's crystals could see anything, and secondly, it was such a devious plot that she felt ashamed to even mention it.

It was true that they had no love for Jareth and his rule, but would they prefer Morwenna? Somehow she didn't think so. After all, there was some truth in the idiom 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't'. So for the sake of her friends and the Goblin Kingdom she must make the journey to the Western Mountains.

_And what about Jareth_, a voice asked. _Doesn't he have anything to do with your desire to find another way?_ Even though he'd been her opponent ten years ago, she hadn't hated him any more than she would have hated an opponent at chess or on the tennis court. He'd been frightening, and he had cheated whenever it had suited him, but honestly, she'd enjoyed every minute of their battle of wills. He'd given her a magnificent adventure, exactly what she'd hoped and longed for. She couldn't repay him by…

'Milady?'

'Hmm?'

'Where shall we meet upon the morrow?'

She looked at Sir Didymus and then at Hoggle, hearing Jareth's question once again in her ear. _Are you willing for them to come to harm on your account?_

'It'll be dangerous.' She warned them.

'Danger is no stranger to a knight.' Sir Didymus informed her.

'I know, but…'

'If we beat the labyrinth, we can beat the Dark Wood.' Hoggle declared. 'Besides, there's safety in numbers. Where do we meet?'

She wavered and then said. 'At dawn at the Goblin Gate.'

The following morning dawned gray and overcast. Sarah slipped out of bed and quickly dressed in the warmest, thickest dress she could find. The choice was limited, but she finally found a claret-colored dress with long sleeves that ended at a point on the back of her hand. The bodice was tight, hugging her breasts and waist snugly, but the skirt was full and double layered, providing extra warmth and protection. A further search uncovered a pair of flat-heeled black boots and a dark gray hooded cloak lined with silver rabbit fur, which she eagerly put on. Then picking up a knapsack she'd filled with provisions the night before, she tiptoed to the door and let herself out into the hallway.

For once the castle was quiet. Too quiet, she thought as she crept down the stairs and past the throne room where snores were emanating, some loud and vibrating, others soft and whimpering. Wasn't the throne room ever free of goblins? Letting herself out of the castle door, which should have been guarded but wasn't, she raised her hood and hurrying down the steps into the streets of the Goblin City.

Hoggle and Sir Didymus were waiting for her at the gate. Both were wearing cloaks and carrying packs, Hoggle's on his back, Sir Didymus's strapped to Ambrosia's saddle.

'Ah, Milady!' Sir. Didymus cried, waving his lance. 'Fine day for a quest, is it not?'

'Very fine.' Sarah agreed.

'Hmpf.' Hoggle muttered, wiping a drop of water off his nose. 'Bad omen if you ask me.'

'Nonsense, my fine fellow.' Sir Didymus said bracingly as they started off in the direction of the Dark Wood, which loomed dark and menacing in the distance. 'My greatest military triumph occurred in a downpour. Shall I tell you about it?'

'No.' Hoggle growled.

The little fox ignored him. 'It happened in the year of the goat, no, perhaps it was the year of the pig, no, no, it was the goat, I'm sure it was the goat, and it happened on the hill of Avalon…'

Sarah hid a smiled as Hoggle groaned under the weight of Sir Didymus's remembrances. It was going to be a long journey.

From within the crystal, Jareth watched the trio enter the Dark Wood. How had Sarah convinced Higgle and Deadmouse to join her on such an impossible quest? He was well aware that all the subjects of his kingdom, goblin or not, dreaded the Dark Wood. Sarah, if she had any sense, would dread it too, but she always was a willful girl. Hadn't she told him, with a defiant lift of that precious chin, that his labyrinth didn't look so hard? He could see that growing up hadn't made she any less cocky.

The fox, he knew, was a romantic and would go anywhere without much persuasion. Hogwart, however, was a pessimist and should have had more sense. But, Jareth thought with negligent flick of his wrist, which caused the crystal to vanish, he was uncommonly fond of the girl. And he knew from experience how compelling Sarah could be. Hadn't he, against his better judgment, granted her a power that she still wielded to this day?

He sat for a few minutes, tapping his crop against his leg and brooding. What to be done, what to be done. He had a good mind to leave them to their just desserts. He'd warned her, and she had ignored his warning. If she was turned into a block of stone, so be it. Then he could bring her to his castle and there she would remain forever, his beautiful statue.

_CRACK_…the crop crashed down on the arm of his chair, and he jumped up as though he'd been sitting on burning coals. But he didn't want her that way, bog it. He wanted her alive and breathing, blood and warmth flowing through those lovely veins. A stone Sarah would only be good to look at, to possess as one possessed a jewel, and _he wanted more! _He didn't want to possess her. He wanted to…what? Love her? Serve her? Cherish her?

He stalked across the room, stopping at the window, hands on hips. Water dripped, running in rivulets along the worn stone and collecting in puddles. Below the streets of the Goblin City were wet and deserted. Goblins hated getting wet. Maybe that was why they rarely, if ever, took baths. Sarah and her friends, however, were dry. Nothing, not even water, penetrated the Dark Wood.

The Dark Wood. Of all places to go. If the Medusa and the elves didn't get them, Morwenna surely would. They would need help, but it would be unwise to use his power. Morwenna would surely feel it. She would know he was in the Wood, and although she could not defeat him personally, she could bring him to his knees by getting her hands on Sarah. It would be foolish to think that she wasn't aware of his special weakness. Everyone in the underground knew about the girl who'd defeated his labyrinth.

So if he was going to help them, he'd have to do it incognito.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_Crossroads_

They weren't kidding when they'd said the wood was dark. It was the darkest, gloomiest place Sarah had ever had the misfortune of entering. The darkness pressed down upon her like a physical weight, and several times she'd caught herself walking hunched over like an old woman. Hoggle and Sir Didymus didn't seem to notice, possibly because they were shorter, but Ambrosia nearly crept along on his belly, shaking and shuddering with each step, looking from side to side as if expecting something to jump out at him.

She knew the feeling for there were so many shadows, so many twisted, evil-looking trees that she half expected them to come alive, reach out their branches and grab them. There was always a feeling of being watched, and sometimes she could have sworn she saw eyes glaring out at them from within those hideous black trees. She suddenly knew how Little Red Riding Hood must have felt on her way to grandmother's house.

How foolishly stubborn she'd been to ignore Jareth's warning. There _was_ something hostile about the Dark Wood that hadn't been present in the labyrinth. All the creatures of the labyrinth had been harmless, friendly even. She knew without having to meet one of the creatures of this wood that they would not be as benign. They were like their queen, devious, treacherous and malignant.

But she'd no choice, she reminded herself as they wove their way deeper and deeper into the wood. The only way to save both Toby and Jareth was to seek out the spellmaster, and to do that, she had to cross the Dark Wood. Although she now regretted bringing Hoggle and Sir Didymus into such a horrible place, she was thankful they were with her. She couldn't even imagine making this trek on her own. In the labyrinth she made friends; here she would only make enemies.

She glanced up, wondering how long they'd been walking. It felt like hours, but that could be a trick of her imagination. Since she dreaded the place so much, she would naturally feel as though she'd been there too long. And with the trees blocking out the sky so completely there was no way of telling what time it really was. They would just have to rest when they felt tired and eat when they felt hungry.

She was about to suggest they do both when up ahead the trees thinned a bit, or at least they appeared to thin for a muted glow at the crest of the path beckoned. Hoggle and Sir Didymus must have been thinking the same thing for their pace increased along with Sarah's and within a few minutes, they were standing on the edge of a small clearing. But instead of relief, dismay greeted them. Their path branched off in two different directions.

'Now which way do we go?' Hoggle groused.

'Does it matter?' Sarah wondered aloud.

'Sure, it matters.' Hoggle said. 'One path may lead to certain death and the other may lead to something worse.'

'I don't think there's anything worse than certain death.' Sarah pointed out.

'You don't know the Dark Wood.' Hoggle said gloomily.

'Perhaps now would be a good time to have our lunch.' Sir Didymus suggested brightly.

'I wouldn't do that, mate.'

All four travelers jumped. In a place like the Dark Wood they'd not been expecting a voice, certainly not a slightly bored one with a cockney accent.

'Who goes there?' Sir Didymus demanded, brandishing his lance, which ended up getting taught in Sarah's skirt due to Ambrosia taking up refuge behind her. 'Would you mind moving aside, Milady? Your skirt is hindering my ability to spear the braggart.'

'I think it would be better to find out who the braggart is before we run him through, don't you?' Sarah asked, disentangling the lance from her skirt. 'He may be able to tell us which way to go.' She glanced around. 'If we can find him, this is.'

'Over here, jam tart.' The voice called.

'I can't...'

'By the well.' Hoggle whispered from behind his hand.

Her eyes went to the stone well sitting in the vee created by the two roads. It was old and encrusted with thick black lichen, a beard of Spanish moss hanging from the wooden cover. Leaning against the edge, nearly obscured by the moss, was a figure dressed in black trousers, boots and a dusty overcoat like those worn by cowboys. Underneath a tricorn hat, which had seen better days, was a black cloth knotted behind his head. It held back his hair and covered half his face. Only his chin and nose were visible as well as a pair of vivid blue eyes, which watched her with insolent ease.

'Who are you?' Sarah asked.

'Name's Stryker.' He said, rolling a gold coin back and forth across his gloved knuckles. It flashed at such a rapid rate that Sarah felt a little dizzy just watching it.

'Is that it?' She persisted, forcing her eyes away from the coin. 'Just Stryker?'

'Just Stryker.'

'Well, Mr. Stryker,' Sarah said in her most business-like voice, 'would you happen to know which path leads to the Western Mountains?'

'Both.'

She smiled down at Hoggle. 'You see, that wasn't so hard…'

'But I wouldn't take the left one unless you like a bit o' adventure.'

'What kind of adventure?' Hoggle asked suspiciously.

'Nothing I can't 'andle.'

'It doesn't matter what you can handle, Mr. Stryker…' Sarah began.

'Just Stryker.' He interrupted.

'…the question is what we can handle.' She finished.

He ran an insolent eye over her. 'You look the type that can 'andle anything, jam tart, but if you're worried, I just happen to be available.'

'Available for what?'

'To guide you.'

'Guide?' Sarah echoed. 'Is that what you do for a living? Guide people?'

'Sometimes.'

'And the other times?'

His mouth kicked up at one side. 'This and that.'

'What do you do right now?' She persisted.

'Let's just say I'm between jobs.' He flipped the coin and caught it easily. 'For the right price, I'm yours.'

She didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like he was selling more than just his services as guide.

'We haven't any money.' She told him quickly, hoping that would put him off.

'You've got other things of value, don't you?'

'Nothing that you'd want.'

'Let's not be hasty, jam tart.' Stryker said. 'That little fellow has a fine bit of fancy on 'is belt.'

She glanced down at Hoggle. He was still wearing his collection of jewelry and other shiny things. She doubted he'd be any more eager to give it up now than he was ten years ago. He was already clutching possessively at it.

'And you've got quite a shiner on that cloak of yours.' He added. 'The bloke that gave you a rock like that must be right barmy over you.'

Sarah's hand went to the brooch that held her cloak together. She hadn't even noticed it earlier, but he was right. It was a particularly fine ruby, cut in the shape a heart and set in a sterling silver setting. She doubted Jareth would care one way or another if she pawned it, but something within her balked at the idea of using it to pay for the services of this disreputable fellow.

'It's not mine to give away. I'm just borrowing it for a while.' She told him. 'I'm sorry…er…Stryker, but we can't pay for your services. If you'll just tell us the best way to go, we'll be on our way.'

His eyes went to the coin that he continued to roll back and forth. 'I've already told you all you need to know.'

Sarah's lips firmed. She'd had just about all she could take of Mr. Stryker. He was deliberately vague, annoyingly insolent and he had an unsavory look about him that sent disturbing little shivers up and down her spine. She wasn't at all surprised to have found him lounging around the Dark Wood. Obviously he was a man of chance, a vagrant who followed the whims of fortune.

'Come on,' she said to Hoggle and Sir Didymus, 'let's go.'

She took the path to the right. She was in no mood for adventure.

An hour or so later she was regretting her choice. The wood got darker, if that were possible, and she wondered if perhaps night had fallen above them. The most unnerving aspect of the entire thing was the intense silence that surrounded them as if the wood and its inhabitants were holding their breath, watching and waiting. They didn't dare speak in case they disturbed…something. But finally she could stand it no longer.

'What are these things?' She asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

Her eyes were on the long, white threads hanging from a nearby tree. She'd noticed them a while back, floating and lifting as they'd walked by, looking like shreds of a very old wedding dress.

'Oh, just someone's laundry.' Hoggle said dismissively.

'No, it's not.' She said, reaching out and touching a long strand. 'It's sticky. Very sticky.' She added when she had difficulty removing it from her fingers. 'It reminds me of…'she stopped as a frightening thought occurred to her, 'cobwebs.'

As if on cue a scuffling sound, like many feet rushing forward, broke the deep silence.

'Was that you, Hoggle?' Sarah asked.

'I was hoping it was you.' Hoggle replied.

'I suspect,' Sir Didymus said in a matter-of-fact tone, 'that it was them.'

He had turned himself around in his saddle and was looking behind them. Sarah and Hoggle reluctantly did the same. Out of the darkness, a multitude of tiny red dots glowed like some freakish Christmas tree. It could only be one thing.

'Spiders!' Sarah cried. 'Run!'

'Never fear, milady!' Sir Didymus declared, brandishing his lance. 'I'll hold them off while you…'

He never got to finish. Ambrosia had bolted, taking a protesting Didymus with him. Hoggle and Sarah were not far behind, sprinting down the path as fast as the rough, uneven surface would allow.

Suddenly Hoggle fell.

'Hoggle!' Sarah gasped, stopping to grab his cloak and pull him upright.

'That fool tree tripped me.'

'Trees don't trip people, Hoggle.' She told him over her shoulder as they began running again.

'That one did!' The dwarf insisted.

They continued onward, falling several more times as trees roots mysteriously got tangled around their feet. Finally they caught up with Sir Didymus. He was working at getting his lance unstuck from a cobweb that stretched across the entire path like a gigantic volleyball net, blocking their escape.

'Don't worry, Milady.' Sir Didymus assured her. 'Once I get my lance free, I'll defend you to the death.'

'Hurry, Sir Didymus!' Sarah urged as the scuffling sounds grew louder and louder. 'They're coming.'

'I'm working as fast as I can. Ambrosia,' the fox snapped, 'do stop shaking. It's interfering with my grip.'

Sarah looked around them, searching for a means of escape. The web was strung between two trees, their trunks gnarled with age, their branches extending well into neighboring vegetation. It would take a machete to clear a path through that undergrowth. They were trapped. All they could do was try to fight it out. With what, she asked herself a little desperately. A ruby brooch?

Her hand was at the brooch when suddenly a form dropped lightly onto the path between them and the approaching red dots. It was holding a flaming torch.

'Stryker!' Sarah gasped when the form turned, showing her its face. 'What are you doing here?'

'Earning my fee.' He said grimly before slashing at the web with the torch. It instantly caught fire, burning rapidly. Within seconds, there was a black gap wide enough to pass through. 'Get going.' He told them, turning back to the spiders.

Hoggle and Ambrosia didn't hesitate. Through the gap they went.

'What about you?' Sarah asked, staring at the spiders in revulsion.

They were large, nearly the size of pigs, with long, hairy legs and great fangs opening and closing among their glowing red eyes. There were at least a dozen, maybe more. They had paused momentarily, drawing back from the light of the torch, but she knew that wouldn't last long. They would advance again, and Stryker would be in their path.

'Your concern is touching.' He mocked. 'But don't worry, jam tart, I can handle this lot.'

'I'm sure you can, but…'

'Sarah!' Hoggle called from just beyond the burnt web. 'This is no time for chit-chat.'

'Your friend's right.' Stryker said. 'Get going or I'll charge you double the price.'

She would have liked to argue with him, tell him that she hadn't agreed to pay him anything, but now wasn't the time, not with spiders ahead and Hoggle behind.

'We'll finish this later.' She told him as she ducked to go through the hole.

'I'm looking forward to it.'

'Where is he?' Sarah asked for about the twentieth time.

They had stopped along the side of the path, several miles from spider incident, in a corpse of oak trees that seemed friendlier than those that had tried to trip them earlier. After a quick meal, which Sarah had eaten half-heartedly, Hoggle and Sir Didymus had wrapped their cloaks around them and snuggled up against the roots of one enormous oak. Sleep was obviously on their minds. Unfortunately, it was not on Sarah's.

'Who cares?' Hoggle groused. 'If he don't show up, we don't have to pay him.'

'Hoggle!' Sarah exclaimed. 'What a thing to say after he saved us from those spiders.'

'Hmpf.' Hoggle snorted. 'We were doing ok.'

'I understand your concern, milady.' Sir Didymus said soothingly. 'No doubt you wish to crown this noble knight with a garland of laurel leaves, and I'll be honored to help you seek him on the morrow, but for now, I urge you to rest.'

Sarah smiled. 'I appreciate your concern, Sir Didymus, but I couldn't sleep a wink. I'm too…antsy.'

'Understood, milady. Say no more.' He looked at her hopefully. 'Would you mind if I…er…got some sleep?'

'Go right ahead.' Sarah told him. 'I'll just take a little walk, wear off some of this excess energy.'

'Don't get lost.' Hoggle grunted from within the folds of his cloak. 'We've had enough trouble for one day.'

'Don't worry.' Sarah retorted, irritated by his grumbling. 'I'm not likely to go far in this place.'

And with that she turned and flounced away. She walked for a few yards and then stopped, her head tilted to one side. Water, she wondered, listening carefully. Leaving the path, she parted a screen of vegetation and peered through the shadows. The sound of water became louder, and she pushed further into the thicket until she found herself standing on the edge of a pool. A stream of water trickled from an outcropping of rock above.

She gasped, not because she'd found a pool of water but rather because moonlight rippled across the surface. To have moonlight, one must have sky…she looked up and was surprised to see twinkling stars. The thick trees had parted, allowing her to see the sky that she'd thought lost forever as long as she was in confines of the Dark Wood.

Bending down, she ran her hand through the water, splashing some of it on her face. She would dearly love a bath and on impulse, she reached for the brooch, unpinning it.

'Delightful as I would find it,' a familiar voice drawled, 'I wouldn't advise it.'

She started to find the image of Stryker on the pool's surface. He was standing behind her, looking dark and mysterious in his long coat and tricorn hat. Like an 18th century highwayman come to life, she thought a little wildly.

'Why not?' She asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Close up he had a powerful effect on her.

'Because you never know what you might find in the water of the Dark Wood.'

She drew her hand back. She hadn't thought of that. The pool had looked so normal. Just like the one back home where she'd play out _Labyrinth_ as a girl. She slowly straightened up, turning to face him.

'I see you survived the spiders.'

'Never any doubt.' He told her flippantly.

'We can't pay you.' She said. 'So if that's what you've come for…'

To her surprise, he put out a gloved hand and touched the ruby brooch. 'I bet the bloke the _loaned_ you this brooch can. Who is he? Some toff with a grand castle and a blooming army of servants?'

'He…' Sarah swallowed as she felt his hand leave the brooch and follow the fur-trimmed edge of her cloak, 'he does have a castle.'

'Mmm. I thought so. They always do.' His hand touched her hair. 'I bet he'd pay a fine price to keep a bird like you safe.'

Sarah wasn't sure if she liked being called a 'bird', but she was having a hard time catching her breath to tell him so. 'We don't have that kind of relationship.'

'No?'

'No.'

'Hasn't he ever taken you into his arms?' He followed suit by snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her up against him. Green eyes stared into blue.

'Once.' She admitted and then corrected herself. 'I mean, twice. But only to…to dance.'

'And he's never kissed you?'

His voice was low and sent shivers up her spine. 'Uh…no.'

'Then let me do it for him.'

And before she could protest, he'd taken her chin in his hand, tilted it upward and placed his lips on hers. It was hard and possessive and overwhelming passionate. He kissed her as though he had every right to do so, as if she belonged to him. No one had ever kissed her in such a manner, not Jay who'd taken her to the senior prom, not Greg who'd she'd lived with during her junior year of college, no one. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she ought to protest, to push him away, to struggle even a little bit, but she couldn't. His kiss had completely consumed her.

Suddenly he released her and stalked away, his back to her. 'You shouldn't have wandered away from your friends, useless though they are.'

His voice was cold and hard as though he were angry with her.

'They're not useless.' She protested, stung by his censure.

He turned to look at her, and he was smiling, but it wasn't a smile that reached his eyes. 'They were more a hindrance than a help.'

'They helped me solve the Goblin King's labyrinth.' She retorted.

The smile took on a cruel twist. 'Ah, the Goblin King. I might have known.'

'Known what?'

'That 'e was the one that _loaned_ you the brooch.' He eyed her up and down. 'I'm a little surprised that 'e let you wander off so easily.'

'He didn't _let_ me do anything.' Sarah told him. 'He doesn't own me. I'm not some piece of chattel that he can put in his castle. I'm not one of his goblins. I'm a woman of independent thought and…and will.'

'Methinks the lady doth protest too much.' Stryker murmured before abruptly turning. 'Let's go. I'd best get you back to your friends.'

'I'm perfectly capable of getting there by myself.'

He ignored her, slashing through the surrounding vegetation as though he was a machete. Sarah hurried after him.

'I meant what I said,' she told his back, 'we really can't pay you.'

'But the Goblin King can.'

'I told you…'

Stryker suddenly turned. 'Enough!'

Sarah's mouth, which had been open, abruptly snapped shut.

'Much better.' Stryker said. 'Now, get over there and get some sleep.' He motioned to the oak where both Hoggle and Didymus were sleeping.

'I'm not sleepy.'

'No?'

He lifted a hand and between his fingers was the gold coin. As she watched it began to move, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, flashing back and forth across his gloved fingers. She wanted to look away but couldn't. Her lids fluttered, drooping.

'Maybe…' she yawned, 'I'll lie down…for…a little while.'

Stryker smiled. 'I'll keep watch.'

'You…' her mind felt foggy, and she wobbled a little as she walked toward the tree, 'you do that.'

Jareth settled himself in the bowl of the tree beside Sarah. She was fast asleep and did not protest or make a sound when he gathered her into his arms. Rather she smiled and snuggled her face into his chest. He tilted his hat forward and prepared to get some sleep himself.

A loud snore shook the air beside him, and he scowled. It figures Hogwart would snore like a bloody locomotive. One did one expect with a nose like that? If he dared use his magic, he'd send the little scab to the bog for the night, but as it was…it looked as though he _would_ be keeping watch after all.

He chafed at the restrictions he'd placed on himself, on the restrictions _Sarah_ had put on him by ignoring his warning and setting out on this foolhardy adventure. It's been a long time since he'd used his wits rather than his magic to 'move the stars', so to speak. The coin had been a trick he'd learned long, long ago, and its power lay merely in its ability to fascinate and then hypnotize. It was how he'd put the spiders to sleep, giving him time to take his leave, and it was how he'd put Sarah asleep.

_Sarah._ His hand touched the dark hair lying across his chest, stroking it, watching how it curled around his fingers. He felt her warm weight against his side, and his scowl turned to a smile. But it wasn't like his usual smiles. There was no cruelty or mockery in this one; there was only a possessive tenderness. This was how it was meant to be. She was his, had always been his, and only her stubborn will kept them apart.

Yet she had allowed a stranger called Stryker to kiss her. And to kiss her passionately, possessively. His fingers tightened on the hair, pulling it, causing Sarah to frown and murmur in her sleep. For a moment, he enjoyed hurting her, making her feel physically the pain he'd felt inwardly at her betrayal, but he quickly loosened his grip. He didn't want her to wake up, not yet.

Besides, he thought, letting his head fall against the tree with a weary sigh, Stryker wasn't supposed to kiss her. He was just a means of getting her safely to her blasted spellmaster. But when he'd seen her standing there in the moonlight, fingering his brooch and claiming that she and the Goblin King didn't have _that_ kind of relationship, he couldn't stop himself. He wanted to shake her out of her ivory tower, make her knowledge that they did indeed have a relationship, a relationship he intended to take beyond her wildest imagination.

But, to his annoyance, he'd been unable to control himself. He had allowed all his feelings, all his wants and desires free reign, and he'd ended up kissing her in a way he'd never intended. He had taken her, consumed her, stamped his seal of ownership upon her. Yet the one doing the stamping as far as she knew had been Stryker, not Jareth, and that had made him angry.

Why couldn't she respond to the Goblin King like that? Hadn't he been everything she'd wanted him to be? Hadn't he given her everything her heart desired? Yet she'd rejected him while giving this Stryker fellow, who'd she'd only met that day, who'd done nothing but put a few mangy spiders to sleep, everything. _What in the blasted bog did this woman want?_


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

_Falling, Falling in Love_

'What a delightful noise.' Sir Didymus said, cocking his head to one side as though to hear it better. 'Pray, what are they, noble sir?'

'Elf chimes.' Stryker growled. 'We're entering the realm of the moon elves so keep that gob of yours shut.'

Sarah hid a smile. Sir Didymus's ramblings had on more than one occasion over the past two days lit their guide's short fuse. While she and Hoggle had learned to ignore Didymus's monologues, Stryker seemed incapable of doing so. They stoked his fire until he finally exploded.

'May I inquire as to why I must remain silent?' Sir Didymus asked with a lift of one furry brow.

'Because if they can hear a faerie fart,' Stryker retorted, deliberately being crude since he knew Didymus considered himself above such vulgar language, 'they'll certainly be able to hear your yammering, and if they hear your yammering, they'll be on us like stink, and you'll find yourself with an apple in your mouth being roasted over an open fire on that silly lance of yours, got it?'

'Er…got it.' Sir Didymus replied, suitably chastened.

They walked on in silence, Stryker in front, Sarah bringing up the rear. Her eyes watched the easy lift and fall of his shoulders as he walked, and she found herself wondering once again where she'd seen that walk before. There were several things he did that seemed familiar to her yet when she tried to put her finger on it, she couldn't. He was both familiar and alien to her, an enigma that drew her attention again and again.

Most of the time he was abrupt, barking out orders to them as though he were their king and they his subjects. He had an imperial air about him that grated on her, but she'd kept her mouth shut, knowing that soon she'd be rid of him. It couldn't be _too_ much further to the Western Mountains. After all, she only had a few days left to find the cure.

Then at other times, mostly at night when the shadows became their deepest, his demeanor would change, becoming almost melancholy. It was during these times, while Hoggle and Didymus slept, that she'd tried to draw him out, but so far, she'd had very little luck doing so. If anything, they spoke more of the Goblin King than they did of him. He seemed nearly obsessed with the goblin leader.

_Jareth._ It wasn't the first time she'd thought of him, wondering if he was stalking about his castle, kicking goblins aside and brooding over his maps. Despite what she'd told Stryker, she, too, had been surprised at how easily he'd allowed her to go. Was he angry because she'd ignored his warning or did he simply not care? She was surprised at how much that last bit unsettled her. If she didn't know better, she might call what she was feeling a touch of pique. She wasn't used to being ignored by the Goblin King.

What are you talking about, Sarah Williams, she asked herself irritably. He ignored you for ten years. It wasn't until you called yourself hoarse that he finally showed up…and in a very bad mood to boot. She had no idea why he'd granted her request to return to the underground, but she expected any day now to hear his price for such a favor. Jareth simply didn't know how to give without demanding. If he ever did, she just might…quickly she pushed that thought aside. It was best not to imagine the impossible.

The chimes were getting fainter, more just a murmur of sound than distinct notes, but Didymus and everyone else remained silent, allowing Sarah's thoughts to wander down strange and forbidden paths. What would happen if she called for Jareth now? Would he hear her in his castle fortress? On impulse she closed her eyes and said very softly, so softly that it was really only her lips moving, _Goblin King, Goblin King, come to me._

'Arrgh!' Hoggle growled. 'Watch where you're going. Watch where you're going.'

She had run into him because everyone had come to a complete halt behind Stryker who was standing like a statue in the middle of the path.

'What's going on?' She whispered to Hoggle.

'Don't know. He just stopped.' He looked at her nervously. 'I…uh…cut the cheese a little while ago. You don't suppose those elves heard, do you?'

'No, Hoggle, I don't think they heard.' She assured him. 'I think Stryker only said that to shut Didymus up.'

'Did a good job then. He hasn't opened his yap for an hour.'

'I'm going to go see what's wrong.' She said, touching his shoulder before slipping past him.

Getting past Sir Didymus wasn't as easy since Ambrosia filled most of the path and what was left was filled by the 'silly lance'. Nevertheless, she managed to squeeze by. She sidled up to Stryker, laying a hand on his coat sleeve. He jerked as though she'd touched him with a hot iron.

He looked at her. 'Did you call me?'

'Of course not. The elves might hear.' She looked at him closely. 'Are you alright?'

'Of course.' He said shortly.

'Then why'd you stop?'

'It's time to stop for the night.'

Sarah glanced around, taking in rocky terrain. 'Here?'

'It's as good a place as any.' He retorted before looking at her, his eyes narrowed behind the mask. 'What were you thinking of just now?'

'I was thinking what a terrible place this is to spend the night. Just look at those rocks…'

'No,' he interrupted impatiently, 'a few minutes ago.'

Sarah suddenly felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to admit to calling for Jareth, not to this man. She gave a shrug. 'Things.'

'What _things_?'

She made to turn away, but he grabbed her arms, pulling her close. 'Tell me.' His voice was low and urgent. 'What were you thinking about?'

'You're hurting me.' She protested as his fingers bit into her arms.

He didn't loosen his grip. Instead he gave her a little shake. 'Tell me.'

'I was thinking of the Goblin King.' She finally admitted. Anything to get him to let go.

'Why?'

'I don't know. I just was. Let me go.'

He held her for a few more minutes, staring into her eyes, and then released her. 'We'll stay here for the night.' He said again before turning and stalking away, his long coat snapping around his boots.

Sarah rubbed her arms where his fingers had bitten into them. The sooner they parted company, the better.

_Why had she called him?_

That question had harassed him all evening, making him short and angry with his companions. It hadn't taken long for the group to realize that conversation was not welcome and had soon turned in for the night rather than spend any more time in his company. Even Sarah had slunk off, curling herself into a ball against the wall of the stone outcropping they'd found to shelter in for the night. He had left shortly afterwards.

The wood was dark and deep, just like his thoughts. He knew he shouldn't wander so far away, but it was either that or wake Sarah and demand to know what she was playing at. For days she had denied any relationship to the Goblin King and now, out of the blue, she'd called him. Her voice was still ringing in his ears ~ _Goblin King, Goblin King, come to me._

He had half a mind to do just that, but to do so he'd either have to reveal himself as Stryker or use his magic. His hand went to the crystal in his pocket. It would be easy enough to send her a dream, an illusion, but that would require more than a magician's parlor trick. Morwenna would certainly sense the power going out from him. No, he couldn't use his magic until they reached the mountains.

One more day, he told himself, stomping along, wishing he had a goblin to kick or a chicken to toss. One more day and they'd be out of the wood.

Sarah woke suddenly. She lay for a moment or two, listening to Hoggle's locomotive-like snoring and Sir Didymus's soft whimpers as he fought a bevy of black knights in his dreams. Then she sat up. Stryker was nowhere to be found. Had he finally decided they weren't worth his trouble? After all, there was no guarantee that Jareth would pay him, and according to Hoggle, the Goblin King kept a firm grip on his sovereigns. But why bring them this far if he didn't intend to collect? No, she decided, he hadn't left them…at least not permanently. So where was he?

Do you really want to know, she asked herself, rubbing her arms once again. He'd left bruises. She was sure of it. What had gotten into him anyway? He'd always been a bit unpredictable, that kiss he'd given her was a good example, but that afternoon, he'd acted as though he had read her mind or…had heard her call. What had he said when she'd come up to him? _Did you call me?_ The only person she'd called was…she rose to her knees as comprehension dawned…_the Goblin King._

She scrambled to her feet. Of course! Why hadn't she seen it sooner? The walk, the authoritative manner, the touchy temper, the gold coin that flowed through his fingers as easily as a crystal orb, it was classic Jareth, and she'd been as blind as a damn bat.. No wonder he was obsessed with the Goblin King; he _was_ the Goblin King!

Her lips firmed as she remembered his questions, his probing into her relationship with him, and she left Hoggle and Didymus under the outcropping, determined to break up his little game right then and there.

'Jareth!' She called. 'I know it's you so you might as well show yourself.'

Silence.

'I'm too old for games.' She stated, turning in a slow circle, her eyes searching the surrounding shadows. 'Why don't you grow up and stop dressing up like some kid at a Halloween party?'

Silence.

She was about ready to return to her friends when something moved. It was no more than a rustle, a slither of sound, but she zeroed in on it and began pushing through the underbrush. If her father had been there, he would have said she made enough noise to wake the dead, and he would have been partially right. He would have been right as far as the waking went. Sarah woke something alright, but to her great dismay, it wasn't in the least dead. It was alive and rose up to meet her like a cobra ready to strike.

'Oh…my…god!' She said through lips that felt numb with fear.

It had the body of a snake and the head of a woman and stood about seven feet tall. Like the Medusa from art, it had serpents for hair. They framed the woman's face, writhing and hissing in a terrible manner that sent shudders up and down Sarah's spine. The face itself was beautiful, more beautiful than any movie star or model, but the eyes…Sarah put her hands over her own eyes as though she could no longer stand the sight…the eyes glowed fiery red like lasers.

'Sarah! Look out! Get out of the way!'

Sarah was surprised to hear Hoggle's voice and even more surprised to feel his weight slam into her.

'Hoggle!' She gasped, struggling to rise after ending up facedown in a clump of mushrooms. 'What do you think you're doing?'

'It's the Medusa.' He said, tugging at her. 'We've got to get out of here. She'll turn you to stone.'

As if to prove his statement, a beam of red light hit the clump of mushrooms she'd been lying in. They instantly turned to stone. Sarah gaped, and then looked at Hoggle, who had stopped tugging and was staring at the mushrooms in much the same manner as she was. He kicked them with his foot, and they fell over like tiny chess pieces.

'You're right! Let's get out of here!' She cried.

They took off running, charging through the underbrush like bulls in the streets of Pamplona. Once again, the trees seemed to be against them for their feet got tangled several times, sending them sprawling among the ferns and mushrooms. It was during one of these episodes that Sarah rose on her hands and knees just in time to see the Medusa take aim at Hoggle.

'Hoggle!' Sarah screamed.

But it was too late. With a fiery flash, the little dwarf had become a statue.

Sarah staggered to her feet and turned to confront the Medusa. 'Why you…' she looked around for a weapon, found only a rock and picked it up.

When she looked back on her actions days later, she realized that she must have looked ridiculous, threatening a seven foot serpent who turned things into stone with a rock, but she wasn't thinking clearly. She merely wanted to strike back at it for what it'd done to her friend. She raised her arm. The Medusa drew back, not in fear, but in preparation to strike once again.

'Never fear milady!' A familiar cried. 'I shall defend thee!'

'Sir Didymus, no!' Sarah yelled.

But once again she was too late. All she could do was watching Sir Didymus charge the Medusa, lance drawn and at the ready. To her astonishment, he actually hit his target. The Medusa let out an ear-splitting shriek, rearing back, the lance stuck in its side. Sir Didymus who'd been holding onto the lance, dropped nimbly to the ground.

'Ah-ha! Take that you slithering serpent!' He declared triumphantly.

Sarah watched in horror as the Medusa's great hissing head jerked forward, sending a red beam of light at the fox. He jumped aside. The creature struck again, and again he jumped aside. This game of tag went on for what seemed like several minutes, but finally Sir Didymus made a mistake. He tripped over Ambrosia who was hiding beneath a clump of ferns. There was a flash and he and his faithful steed became stone.

It was with stunned acceptance that Sarah saw the Medusa pointed its head at her. Why not, she thought. Why not become stone like her friends? She deserved it. She'd brought them into this horrible wood with its horrible creatures. She closed her eyes, waiting for the strike, but it never came.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a crystal orb lying at her feet. She looked up. The Medusa, its terrible beauty frozen in place, was stone.

'What…'

'Foolish girl.' Jareth rasped just before he pulled her into his arms, crushing her against him as though he was trying to absorb her body into his.

They stood like that for several minutes, two bodies clasped together in the dark. She could feel his heart pounding, and she wondered if he could feel hers. Finally he lifted his head, and as suddenly as he'd grabbed her to him, he let her go. She fell backwards onto the ground, but he didn't seem to notice. He just picked up his crystal and stalked off.

A few seconds later, he returned. Grasping her hand, he placed two little stone figures, like chess pieces, into her palm.

'You'd better hope like the bog that your spellmaster is still alive.' He said, his voice hard like the stone she held in her hand. 'Otherwise, you'll be taking your friends home with you…permanently.'

She looked at the two figures and then up at him. 'Jareth, I…'

'Save it.' He snapped. 'We haven't got time for post mortems. There's a day between us and the Western Mountains. We're going to do it in a night.'

'But why?' She asked, hurrying after him.

'Because I was forced to use magic to reduce your friends to carrying size.' He said over his shoulder. 'The queen of this wood will have sensed it. If she finds us here, it won't be pretty, especially for you. So I suggest you get a move on, princess.'

The pace Jareth set was brutal, but Sarah somehow managed to keep up with him. At times she wondered whether he was doing it to punish her, but then she remembered her meeting with the Queen of the Dark Wood, and she knew that what he'd said was quite true. Morwenna was not the kind of person she wanted to meet in a dark wood, especially since she was in the process of double-crossing the dark queen.

Not that she _was_ double-crossing her, Sarah reminded herself as she struggled up a rocky incline. She had never agreed to anything. She was _not_ in league with _that_ woman. The whole purpose of this journey was to avoid paying the dark queen's price. And look what it had cost her. Two dear friends and the respect of the Goblin King. She wondered if she would ever get either back.

Ah, Sarah, she mused, when did you suddenly begin wanting the Goblin King's respect? _When you lost it_, a small voice replied.

'Shhh! Quiet! Get down!' Jareth hissed.

She looked around, a little dazed. She'd been so busy mulling over her problems that she hadn't noticed the change in scenery. Her legs, which were screaming with fatigue, should have told her that she'd been steadily climbing for the last couple of hours, but it was still a surprise to her to find herself standing among boulders rather than trees.

'I _said_ to get down.'

A hand forcefully pulled her down. Her knees hit hard rock, and she nearly bit her lip in two to keep from crying out in pain. She looked up, wondering what all the fuss was about and abruptly forgot his order to be quiet.

'Flying monkeys.' She breathed. 'They really do exist.'

'Of course, they exist.' Jareth snapped. 'And they're bloody miserable so best keep you head down and your mouth shut.'

'Where'd they come from?' She asked.

'Morwenna.' He said grimly. 'She's sent them out to look for us.'

'So what are we going to do?'

He didn't answer for a second or two and then he said. 'See that shadow over there?' She nodded. 'It's an entrance to a cave. We'll hold up there until they're gone. We'll have to make a run for it so keep your head down. They don't have very good eyesight.' He crouched on the ground beside her, his hand on her arm. 'Ready?'

Without waiting for her reply, he took off at a slow jog, body bent close to the ground like a gunfighter in an old Western trying to dodge bullets. She followed, but her technique wasn't as smooth or as graceful. She was sure she must look like a rabbit darting back and forth across a busy road, but the cave was within sight. Just a few more yards…

Her foot slipped and she went skidding down a short embankment. The minutes following were some of the most terrifying she'd experienced since coming to the underground, even more terrifying than the Medusa. As soon as she went down, the monkeys were on her like a flash, their hands grabbing at her, pinching, lifting her off the ground, and she suddenly knew how Dorothy must have felt. She fought and struggled, but there were too many of them.

Then one by one they started to disappear or rather they started turning into chickens. Some of them didn't even make it that far. They just disintegrated with a poof of feathers. When the last one had gone off squawking into the wood, she turned and found Jareth standing a few feet off, hands on hips, staring down at his handiwork.

'I detest sloppy work.' He muttered, giving a pile of feathers an irritable kick with one booted heel. 'But when one is in a hurry…' He shrugged and looked at Sarah. 'Come on, princess. Best get in the cave before the rear guard arrives.'

'There'll be more of them?' She asked, shuddering at the thought.

'Of course.' He said. 'Unlike goblins, they're very well disciplined. I must look into hiring a troop or two.'

They had entered the cave and were now standing just inside entrance. It was dark and smelled like old gym socks. Jareth strode forward, but Sarah hung back, unwilling to enter. She looked behind her at the light pouring in, wondering if flying monkeys were all that bad, when suddenly there was a rumble and rocks began to fall. She fell to her knees, covering her head with her arms. When she looked up again, Jareth was standing over her, holding a glowing crystal.

'You should never look back, Sarah. It can be very unhealthy.'

She scrambled to her feet. 'You did that, didn't you?'

'Would you prefer I let the monkeys follow us?'

'You might have told me you were going to do that.' She groused.

'I didn't know that I needed your permission.' He said mockingly. 'Last time I checked I was the king.'

'I'm not one of your goblins.' She snapped.

He let his eyes run over her. 'At the moment it's a little difficult to tell. You're about as dirty as one.'

'Thanks to you.'

'You never were very good at expressing gratitude.' He noted before turning on his heel and walking off.

She hurried after him since he carried the only source of light. 'That was our way out, and you blocked it off.'

'Come now, Sarah, I'm surprised at you.' He drawled. 'Don't you think I can open what I've closed? But even if I couldn't, there's no need for all this angst. Every cave in the underground has an exit. The dwarves made sure of that. They always complete what they start.'

They were moving downward, following steps carved out of rock. Sarah shivered as a cold, damp breeze rushed by them bringing a strong whiff of eau de gym socks with it. If there was a breeze, she assured herself, there must be a way out. She kept repeating this mantra as they walked deeper and deeper into the darkness.

'We're approaching the old mines.' Jareth said over his shoulder. 'Watch your step.'

'I can see my hand in front of my face let alone my feet.' She retorted just as the ground gave way beneath her.

She landed on her knees with a resounding splat. Water quickly seeped into her skirt and boots, soaking them.

'I hate this place.' She declared loudly to anyone who called to listen. 'I hate every dirty…stinking…rotten thing about this place.'

She aimed a slap at the water and received a splash of water in her face.

'Sarah,' Jareth said from above her, 'it's only water. Give me your hand and I'll help you out.'

'That's easy for you to say.' She snapped as he heaved her out of the hole she'd fallen into, 'You're dry. And you don't have a brother dreaming his life away or friends who look like chess pieces or…' she paused to catch her breath, 'or been…been groped by flying monkeys. Now,' she swallowed as tears threatened to overcome her, 'now I'm stuck in a creepy underground cave with a…with a Goblin King who hates me.'

'I don't hate you.'

'But you're angry with me.'

'I'm not angry.'

'Then what do you call how you treated me after the Medusa? You were very abrupt.'

'I'm always abrupt. Ask the goblins.'

'But you think it's my fault that,' the tears were becoming more and more difficult to restrain, 'that Hogwart, I mean Hoggle, and Sir Didymus are,' her face began to crumple, 'little…pieces… of….stone.'

The last part came out on wail as she burst into tears. It was humiliating beyond belief to cry in front of the Goblin King, but she couldn't help it. The day had finally gotten to her. Her spirit, for the moment anyway, had been crushed, and she made no protest when arms went around her. Rather than pushing Jareth away, she leaned into him, resting her face in the crook of his neck.

'There, there, love.' He murmured, his hand holding her head against him. 'Why all these tears? When did the Goblin King's opinion matter to you?' When she just cried harder, he said. 'Come now. All is not lost. This spellmaster of yours probably hasn't turned himself into a rock yet. I hear they live a very long time.'

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. 'Are you trying to…to comfort me?'

He looked blank at first as though the idea was foreign to him and then he said. 'I suppose I am.'

'Well, I still feel terrible,' she admitted, 'but thank you all the same. It's very kind of you.'

'Yes, well,' Jareth stepped back, releasing her, 'I can't have you falling apart on me now. We still have a ways to go. Stiff upper lip, Sarah.'

He turned away, picked up the glowing crystal he'd left on the ground in order to help her out and stalked off. Sarah had to run to catch up with him.

She knew she ought to be angry at him for such a flippant response, but she was beginning to understand how the Goblin King's mind worked. He was obviously not used to being called kind, and it unnerved him, causing him to quickly retreat back to responses he knew and understood. He used mockery and a touchy temper in the same way he used magic. He used them to create an illusion, a deception, which hid his true thoughts and feelings and maintained the image he'd fashioned for himself as Goblin King.

'We'll stop here.' Jareth suddenly said.

They'd entered what must be a large room within the cave for the air wasn't as musty and Sarah could no longer touch wall of either side of her. The ground was sandy, and she sat down, propping her back up against the wall. She shivered as another breeze rushed by her wet clothing.

'You're cold.' Jareth noted with a frown.

'I'm wet.' She pointed out. 'And it is chilly down here.'

Without saying a word, he produced another crystal, this one larger than the others, and placed it on the ground in front of her. As she watched, it began glowing and little flames appeared, dancing within the sphere. Slowly she began to feel warmth, first at her feet and then all over. She also began seeing more of their surroundings, and she gaped in wonder. Jewels covered every available surface. From walls to ceiling, they twinkled and winked at her.

'Are those sapphires?' She asked, gazing upward.

Jareth followed her gaze. 'Probably. The dwarves didn't mine everything before they left.'

'Why did they leave?'

'No one really knows.' He told her, seating himself beside her. 'You might try asking Higgle when he's able to talk again. They are, after all, his people.'

'Don't you mean _if_ he's able to talk again?'

She watched as he stretched out his long legs, crossing them at the ankle. Why didn't he say something, damn it? Finally he did.

'Unlike you, Sarah, I mean what I say. _When_ Higgle's able to talk again, ask him why the dwarves left the mountains.' He saw her quick frown and leaned over, running a finger along her cheek, just under her left eye. 'You're getting dark circles.'

'I got very little sleep last night.' She retorted. '_Someone_ kept me walking all night and morning.'

'Then let me make restitution.'

He took hold of her, pulling her across his lap. Immediately she tensed.

'Relax.' He said gruffly. 'I'm not going to ravish you.'

'It's…it's not that.' She lied.

'No?'

'No.'

'Then what is it?'

She searched for an excuse and settled on the first thing that came to mind. 'You,' he lifted an eyebrow when she faltered, 'well, to tell you the truth, you don't smell all that pleasant right now.'

'Have you smelled yourself lately?'

'No. Why?' She sniffed suspiciously at her sleeve and then drew back.

He chuckled deep in his throat. 'That, my dove, is the essence of flying monkey. They stink worse than goblins. That's why I haven't hired them before.'

She looked horrified for a moment and then the humor of what he'd said struck her and she laughed. She didn't stop laughing even after he'd pressed her head against his chest, a hand tangling in her hair.

'It does come off, doesn't it?' She asked.

'Fortunately, yes.' He said. 'With a lot of soap and water.'

She smiled against the fabric of his shirt and was pleased to discover that it didn't smell as bad as his coat. Actually, it smelled quite pleasant, she decided. It smelled of some sort of earthly fragrance…pine maybe…and warm, male skin. She felt her heartbeat jump and determinedly closed her eyes. Sleep, Sarah, she told herself. If you sleep, you won't notice how good it feels to be held in his arms.

But her body wouldn't cooperate. Her ear kept hearing the strong, steady beat of his heart, and her nose kept trying to decide whether it was pine or bayberry, and her heart…well, the jump had become a trot and was fast on its way of becoming a gallop. How could she sleep with such things going on?

'What's beyond the Western Mountains?'

'The sea.' His voice sounded faint as though he were half asleep.

'And beyond that?'

Jareth's chest lifted and then dipped as he let out a sigh. 'If you're interested in the geography of the underground, there's a splendid globe in the library. I suggest you consult it upon our return.'

She sat up. 'There wasn't a globe.'

'No?'

'No.'

He sat for a moment, eyes narrowed, gloved finger tapping his lips thoughtfully, and then said. 'Ah, yes, I remember now. I found the goblins kicking it around the ward one day. When I demanded to know what the bog they were doing, they said they were playing 'football'. European-style. They said that was very important since the Americans called it something else.' He sighed. 'The game ended after Brimstone got the bloody thing stuck on his head.'

Sarah laughed.

'Laughter again?' He asked, looking at her with dark, unreadable eyes. 'If I didn't know better, I'd say you were enjoying my company.'

'I am.' She said simply.

The admission immediately brought a tension between them that had nothing to do with fear, and everything to do with why Sarah's ears, nose and heart wouldn't let her sleep. She had always thought him attractive, even when he was scaring the daylights out of her, but now there was an added element to his appeal. She had found that when he stopped stealing babies from her and sending 'cleaners' after her, he was…well…likable.

'May I kiss you, Sarah?'

The question surprised her, especially after that kiss at the pond. Goblin Kings didn't ask permission. They merely took what they wanted. This new side he was showing her was…irresistible. She felt drawn to him as she had at the masked ball.

'Yes.' She heard herself saying.

He leaned toward her, placed two fingers beneath her chin to hold it steady and very lightly, very gently brushed her lips with his. Then he looked at her, long and hard, his eyes searching hers.

'Thank you, Sarah.' He said softly before resuming his place against the wall. 'Now get some sleep, love. Tomorrow you see you'll spellmaster.'

She wanted to say something, to ask him what he'd meant by kissing her so gently, to demand to know why he was treating her so tenderly, but she didn't. Instead she did as he told her to do. She placed her head against his chest once again and closed her eyes. This time her ears, nose and heart allowed her to drift into the world of dreams where Goblin Kings danced with faerie princesses under sapphire skies.

_This was the way it was meant to be_, Jareth thought as he gazed down at the woman in his arms. Of course, he would prefer a nice, thick mattress and a lot less clothing between them, but at least they were making progress. She had willingly and knowingly gone to sleep in his arms. She had even let him kiss her. On the whole this little adventure was turning out much better than he'd expected. Sarah was beginning to see him as a man, not as the Goblin King.

He'd done the right thing, leading her into this mountain. He could have used his magic to take them to the spellmaster as soon as they'd left the Dark Wood, but he'd wanted more time with her, especially after he'd nearly lost her. His arms involuntarily tightened, and she murmured in her sleep at the sudden discomfort.

'Shhh, my dove.' He breathed against her hair. 'It's just me. Nothing's going to harm you.'

Not as long as he was around, he added to himself as Sarah's breathing become slow and steady once again. He'd fight a thousand Medusas for her, but one had been frightening enough. His heart pounded as he remembered the fear he'd felt when he'd seen the Medusa towering above her, ready to strike. Despite what he'd told her, he wasn't at all sure that the spellmaster was indeed alive, and if that were the case, his Sarah would have been a block of stone for eternity. And if that had happened, he would have turned himself into stone as well for life wouldn't have been worth living without Sarah.

Oh, yes, he'd lived without her for ten years, but at least he'd had the knowledge that she was out there somewhere, living and breathing. It had been poor comfort, but it'd been enough. He'd been able to see her, watch her, touch her when she'd been fast asleep. There'd always been the hope that someday…

He laid his cheek against her hair, closing his eyes as he savored the moment. Yes, someday…


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

_Path Between the Stars_

'So,' Sarah said, 'what do we do now?'

They were standing at the mouth of the exit. Before them was a vast expanse of mountains, raising and falling, some peaks covered with snow, some bare and forlorn as though nature had decided to scorn them for some reason. She glanced at Jareth and couldn't stop the rush of emotion she felt at the sight of his stern features, once so frightening and now so what? So dear?

When had this happened, she wondered. When had her heart expanded to include a Goblin King? Maybe he had always been there, and she hadn't known it. How else could one explain the sudden change in her feelings toward him? One night in a mountain, some kindness, a few laughs and a kiss didn't warrant the warmth she was now feeling. This, she unconsciously touched her heart as though to steady it, this was extraordinary.

'We fly.' Jareth replied as though there'd never been a question as to their next move.

'Fly?' She echoed, shocked out of her reverie, 'but how…'

He looked at her with those odd eyes of his. 'Will you trust me, Sarah?'

What an odd question…and what a difficult one to answer considering their past. Could she trust the person who'd done everything in his power to keep Toby from her? Could she trust a person who had had no qualms about cheating, who had stolen time from her and had tried to seduce her into forgetting her mission? Could she? _Would she?_

But he'd done it all for her, because she'd asked him to take the child…

She met his eyes fearlessly. 'Yes, I'll trust you.'

'Then give me your hand.'

His fingers closed around hers and he tugged her toward him. She came willingly.

'It may feel odd.' He warned her as he closed his arms around her. 'But you mustn't be afraid. I've got you, and _I'll never let you go_.'

And with those words everything began to whirl. Sarah closed her eyes as dizziness threatened to overwhelm her, and for a moment, she wanted to cry out, to get away from him, but then she felt his arms, holding her, securing her against him, and she relaxed. Suddenly the whirling stopped, and she felt as though she was floating, soaring. She opened her eyes, gasped and closed them again.

She _was _soaring! She was lying on her stomach on the back of the great white owl, and he was gliding on the updrafts, climbing and falling as he navigated past tall pines, moving steadily toward a distant chain of blue-green mountains. How he'd done it, she had no idea. Either he'd made her smaller or himself larger, but somehow she was upon the great owl…and she felt like she was going to be sick.

Deep breath, Sarah, she counseled herself, deep breath. She had never liked flying in a jumbo jet let alone on the back of an owl, but she absolutely refused to do something embarrassing like throwing up on his snowy white head. Digging her fingers into the feathers beneath her hands, she buried her head in his neck and held on for dear life.

Eventually she became used to the lifts and falls, they were almost hypnotic in a way, sort like when a baby is rocked in a cradle, and she worked up enough courage to open her eyes once again. They were within the blue-green mountains now. Below she could see a fine mist like pale fingers wrapping around pine trees, and before her were the mountains themselves, craggy and sharp like the teeth of some giant. One in particular stood out. It looked like a Hershey Kiss, and the great owl was headed straight for it.

As they drew closer the Kiss took on eyes and a mouth like some grinning Jack-o-Lantern, but she soon discovered that they were windows and doorways. The Hershey Kiss was actually a castle formed from the mountain itself. The owl dropped lightly onto a balcony that jutted out over the chasm below, and after another bout of whirling, Sarah's feet touched solid ground.

'Your spellmaster is within.' Jareth told her, sweeping an arm toward a curtained entrance.

She started towards it and then stopped when Jareth made no move to follow.

'Aren't you coming?' She asked.

'This is your quest, Sarah.' He said. 'I am merely the means of getting you here.' When she continued to stand where she was, not moving, he waved an impatient hand. 'Go on, go on. I shall be here when you return.'

She would have liked to protest, but she couldn't. He was already stalking away, following the balcony that acted as both hallway and observation platform until he disappeared around a jutting corner. Unable to do anything else, she did as he'd told her to do. She pulled aside the curtain and stepped inside.

The room was low with rough walls and ceiling. She just barely fit inside without banging her head. All was dark except for a small fire that burned or rather glowed, for the only thing left were embers, in a large hearth that had been cut out of the rock. Well, that's promising. Someone had lit a fire. If the spellmaster was dead, there'd be no need for a fire. _Or_, she thought with an anxious glance around, someone or something might have taken up residence in his absence.

'Come in, girl.' A rusty voice said from the shadows. 'You've obviously come for a reason so out with it. I haven't much time, you know, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. Just say what you want.'

'I'm,' she stopped and then started again, 'I'm looking for the spellmaster. Do you know where I can find him?'

'He's the one speaking to you. State your business.'

She peered into the shadows. 'I'd feel more comfortable doing so if I could see you.'

'I'm right in front of you.'

'It's too dark.'

'Ah, yes,' the voice held the petulance of an old man who found children too exhausting to bother with, 'I'd forgotten that you lower creatures can't see in the dark.'

The fire in the hearth suddenly blazed to life, chasing the shadows into the corners and revealing a room neatly fitted out with table, chairs and several bookcases stuffed with books of various shapes and sizes. But still Sarah could see no one.

'You still don't see you, do you?' The voice asked irritably.

'I'm afraid not.'

There was an ill-tempered grumble followed by a scraping sound and suddenly part of the wall detached itself and came to rest in front of her. It was then that she finally saw who she'd come to see. He looked more rock than flesh and blood, but she could clearly distinguish a large, jutting nose, small dark eyes and a wide, canyon-like mouth. His clothing and his skin and hair were the color of the rocks in which he lived.

'I trust you can see me now?'

'Yes.' She agreed. 'I can see you quite clearly.'

He gave a loud snort and then said somewhat apologetically. 'I'm so close to being rock, I forget that people have trouble seeing me. Of course, I don't get many visitors these days.' He eyed her up and down. 'You're the first in over twenty years. Now, why did Jareth bring you here?'

'You know Jareth's here?' She asked, surprised.

'He can't hide himself from me even though he tries.'

'Why would he want to hide from you?'

'That's for another time.' He said mysteriously. 'What concerns me now is why you've come. It's not an easy journey to get here, especially for a human. So it must be important. Come on, out with it. I feel the rock beginning to settle.'

She had no idea what that meant, but she sensed his impatience and hurried to soothe him. 'I need you help.'

'Naturally.' He barked. 'I didn't think this was a social visit, you know.'

'I read in a book in the library of the Goblin Castle that a spellmaster can break spells.'

'Yes, yes.'

She reached into the knapsack she still carried and removed the stone figurines, which she held out for him to see. 'These are three very dear friends of mine. They were my traveling companions until the Medusa turned them into stone. If you can,' her voice broke a little, 'if you can do anything for them, I'd be most grateful. They are the truest friends anybody could ever have, and it's my fault they're like this. I didn't listen to Jareth when he told me not to involve them in my quest.'

'A quest is it?' The little man asked, lifting sandy eyebrows. 'So these friends of yours are not the reason you came to me.'

'No, there is another.'

'But you want to undo the consequences of your incaution first.'

She hung her head. 'Yes. If you please.'

'If I do this, you must promise not to disregard Jareth's advice again. He may be an arrogant fellow, but he does know a thing or two about the underground.'

'I wouldn't have if…'

'If what?'

'If I hadn't had a previous,' she searched for a word to explain their past, 'experience with him.'

'Ah,' the spellmaster murmured, nodding his sandy head as if that explained everything, 'so you're the precious thing.'

'The what?'

'Never mind, never mind.' He said, waving an impatient hand. 'Put your friends on the floor and stand back or you might turn into a chicken or something.'

She did as he ordered and then stood well back. He did a bit of pacing, back and forth, back and forth, before stopping in front of the three figurines, rubbing his chin in a distracted manner. There was a lot of grumbling and mumbling under his breath and then his eyes moved to Sarah.

'Get me that book. The green one on the top shelf.'

She followed the motion of his hand and went to do his biding. It wasn't the easiest task to accomplish since the bookshelf was crammed so tight that it took three good pulls to release the book in question, but she managed it and carried the book over to him.

'Hold it.' He ordered.

She held it open while he began rifling through the pages, muttering under his breath, 'Statues, no, no, stone statues, no, no, drat it, what's it under, stone turn to gold, blast it, ah, here it is under medusa.'

He continued mumbling under his breath for several seconds more before he finally turned, closed his eyes and intoned a bunch of words that sounded like gibberish to Sarah. But suddenly Hoggle was standing before them.

'Sarah!' He cried, grabbing her arm and tugging at it insistently. 'Run! She's going to turn you to stone!' Then he noticed the spellmaster. 'Who's the rock?'

'That's the spellmaster.' Sarah told him.

'Hmpf. I suppose this is Stryker's doing.'

'He wasn't Stryker, Hoggle. He was Jareth.'

Hoggle looked thoroughly confused, but he didn't have time to ask any more questions because Sir Didymus's voice was ringing out across the room.

'Milady, the victory is ours. Down, Ambrosia, down. What are you licking me for? Do control yourself, Ambrosia. There's no need to be so affectionate. Where's my lance?'

'Now,' the spellmaster said, breaking into the happy celebration, 'I do believe it's time for the two of you to return to the Goblin City.'

'We're not going anywhere without Sarah.' Hoggle stated.

'Jareth will see to Sarah.' The spellmaster told him. 'Brendan and his captain will see you home.'

As if it were waiting outside for just such a summons, a great beast entered the room through the curtain. It had the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. It bowed low to the spellmaster and then rose.

'You called, my liege?' Its voice was deep and melodious like a cello.

'Brendan, please transport this dwarf, fox and dog back to the Goblin City.'

'Immediately, my liege.'

Sarah's friends were escorted out of the room, Sir Didymus quite delighted at the prospect of riding atop a griffin, Hoggle and Ambrosia much less enthusiastic.

Sarah watched them go, a frown on her face.

'You needn't worry.' The spellmaster told her. 'The griffins have never lost a passenger yet. Perhaps now that your unfortunate mistake has been corrected, you'll tell me about your quest.'

'I came to you in the hopes that you could break a spell placed on my brother.'

'What kind of spell?'

'A sleeping spell.'

The spellmaster looked at her closely. 'And how did you brother get this spell placed on him?'

She wanted to lie but couldn't. Somehow she knew that he would know if she told a fib. His eyes were too sharp even if he were half rock.

'The Queen of the Dark Wood put it on him.'

'Why?'

'She hoped to force me to betray the Goblin King. If I discovered the source of his power for her, she would remove the spell.'

There was a long pause and then the little man nodded. 'What you say is true. There is nothing remarkable about the Dark Queen doing such a thing. She's hated Jareth for decades, and perhaps with good reason. He is, after all, an arrogant fellow. But what I find remarkable is that you preferred to make the journey to the Western Mountains on the slim chance that I was alive rather than betray Jareth. You must have known it would be very easy to deceive him, considering how he feels about you. It would have been a magnificent revenge.'

'But I don't want revenge.' Sarah protested.

'No, you wouldn't.' He agreed with a sharp-eyed look. 'It was you who defeated him. It should be Jareth seeking revenge yet he brought you to me. I find that very interesting, don't you?'

'He wants something from me.'

'What?'

'I don't know.' She admitted. 'He hasn't stated his terms yet.'

'Remarkable indeed.' The spellmaster murmured, shuffling over to a cabinet carved into the wall. He removed a small vial and handed it to her. 'Put two drops of that on your brother's tongue and he will wake. No one can sleep with the blood of the fire serpent on their tongues.'

Sarah took the bottle eagerly, clutching it to her like she used to clutch Lancelot. 'I don't know how to thank you. I…I don't have any money, but if there's anything I can do to show my gratitude, you need only name it.'

Once again the sharp, black eyes were on her, studying her closely. 'I have no need of money or gratitude.' He finally said in that rusty voice of his. 'But I do have a request.'

'Name it.'

'Follow me.' He led her outside onto the balcony. 'Do you see those stars?' He asked. Night was just beginning to fall, and the stars he spoke of were mere specks, their brilliance still concealed by the fading sunlight, but she nodded. 'Don't defy them.' He told her with a fierceness that caused her to take a step backwards.

'I don't understand.' She said.

'I am the spellmaster.' He told her. 'I know all things. I know of the girl who defeated Jareth's labyrinth. I know how the Goblin King mourned in the years following. I know of the jealousy and hatred that consumes the Dark Queen, that drives her to destroy the Goblin King. I know the Goblin King longs for his queen, a queen he chose from the cradle. I saw it in the stars. You cannot defy the stars, Sarah Williams. What is meant to be is meant to be. I give you the elixir to break her spell, but she will not give up. You must defeat her together, side by side, as King and Queen of the Goblins. I see that you still do not understand, but you will. You will.' He suddenly looked very tired as though his speech had taken the remaining life out of him. 'Go now.' He told her. 'Swift will show you to a bedchamber where you may bathe and spend the night. Goodbye, Sarah Williams. I do not think we shall meet again for the rock is settling very quickly now. Very quickly.'

The bedchamber the griffin named Swift led her to was much like the room she'd just left, low hanging with rough walls and ceiling. It was simply furnished with a bed cut into the wall and various tables and chairs as well as a large, open window overlooking the chasm below. In the floor was cut a sunken tub, which was already filled with hot water. Lavender-scented steam rose from the tub, beckoning her, but she sat down on the bed, feeling dazed.

She'd come to find a cure to Toby's spell and had received a lot more. The spellmaster's talk of revengeful queens and all knowing stars unsettled her, and she longed to take her bottle and go. But how could she unless the Goblin King took her? And _he _was nowhere to be seen, she reminded herself, setting her vial down on the nearby table with a snap.

An hour or so later, she was feeling less confused and less annoyed. It was amazing what a hot bath and a change of clothing could do to one's outlook, she decided as she let herself out of her room. She stood for a moment, breathing in the fresh mountain air. Night had fallen, and the stars were clearly visible now, twinkling overheard. She turned away, annoyed with everything cosmic, and nearly fell over someone leaning against the balcony railing.

'Jareth.' She said, recognizing him in the light coming from firepots lit along the wall. 'I'm surprised to find you here.'

'I said I'd be here when you returned.'

'Yes, well, when you took off like that I wasn't sure.' She said tartly.

She was expecting an irritable response back but instead he said. 'Did he help you?'

'Yes.'

'Hogwart and Sir Deadmouse are alive and well again?'

'And on their way back to the Goblin City.' She added as confirmation to his question. 'He provided transportation in the form of two griffins.'

'Good.' He said, his eyes on something beyond the balcony. He still had bothered to look at her yet, which annoyed her exceedingly. 'I certainly wouldn't have been able to carry all of you, and I don't think they would have fancied another adventure in the Dark Wood.'

'No,' she agreed, 'I think one was more than enough.'

There was a long silence in which he continued to stare out across the chasm, and Sarah continued to shoot annoyed little glances at him from beneath her lashes. She'd never seen him so distant, so remote. He'd shown her many sides of himself, some good and quite a lot bad, but he'd never held himself back from her. What was he thinking, she wondered, annoyance giving way to concern.

Finally he spoke once again. 'And your brother?'

'He gave me an elixir made from the blood of the fire serpent. Two drops placed on his tongue is supposed to wake him up.'

'So,' Jareth said, 'mission accomplished. And with days to spare.'

'I couldn't have done it without you.'

He looked at her then and she saw that the old mockery had returned. 'Me? Surely not. That honor belongs to your faithful friends.'

'Oh, Jareth, stop it.' She said irritably. 'Mockery doesn't suit you.'

'Hmm, I thought it did.'

Once again silence reigned. Sarah found herself staring up at those damn stars. They winked down at her, silent as ever. I thought you had all the answers, she told them. If all this is written in you then why is he being so difficult?

'Well,' Jareth suddenly said, straightening up as though to leave, 'since I'm sure you're anxious to return home, I'll fly you back tomorrow.'

'Back home.' She said as though she'd never heard of the place before. 'You mean all the way back home?'

'Of course. There's no reason to stop.'

Sarah felt panic begin to rise within her. Things were moving too fast. She wasn't ready to leave the underground quite yet. There were…_things_…left unfinished. _And what about those damn stars?_ 'I had hoped to say goodbye to Hoggle and Sir Didymus.'

'I'll send them to you once you're back at that funny, little university of yours. From what I've seen of the place, they'll fit in just fine.'

She turned on him angrily. 'Are you trying to get rid of me?'

'I'm trying to help you, Sarah.' He said with a mildness that only infuriated her more. He acted as though she was the one being difficult. 'You do want to go home, don't you?'

If Sarah hadn't been so flustered, so confused about what she was feeling, she might have heard the real question he was asking and breached the chasm between them right then and there. But she didn't. She barreled ahead like a bull in a china shop.

'Of course, I do.' She snapped. 'I have to wake up Toby.'

'Then I'll see you in the morning.'

She heard his boot heel scrape against the stone floor. He was leaving her. She turned from the railing, calling out wildly, 'Jareth…'

'What is it, Sarah?' His voice sounded weary, defeated.

'You've never said what I owe in exchange for allowing me to return to the underground.'

'You don't owe me anything.'

She stared at him, stunned. 'I must owe something. I told you in Toby's bedroom that I'd be willing to pay any price. Please, Jareth, tell me what it is, and I'll pay it.'

'I told you,' he rasped, the lines of his face looking sterner than she'd ever seen them, 'you don't owe me anything.'

'I don't understand. Of course, I owe you something.' She persisted. 'You're the…'

'Goblin King.' He finished for her.

She nodded miserably.

'I'll always be the Goblin King to you, won't I, Sarah?' He asked, his voice dripping scorn, his face tight with some unknown emotion. 'I'm the black-hearted villain who stole your precious brother, _a brother you asked me to take_, and then when you regretted your rash words, I wouldn't let you off easy. I forced you through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered. I made you accept responsibility for your own thoughtless behavior yet I am the villain. And even now when I've allowed you into the underground against my better judgment and have helped you accomplish your mission, I'm still the Goblin King who only takes and never gives. No, Sarah, I don't want anything from you. I'm not going to demand payment so you can tell yourself that you had no choice. I'm not going to let you lie to yourself anymore. What you give me, if you give anything, you give by your own free will, Sarah Williams.'

He turned on his heel and stalked away.

Sarah stared after him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The pain, the hurt, the torment had been clearly visible. It had spewed out of him like a tidal wave, sweeping away all of her preconceived ideas, all her prejudices, all her vanities and follies. She had labeled him the villain, the Goblin King because…she swallowed hard as the truth shone through, stark and cruel…she hadn't wanted to love him.

Like an electric shock, the truth jolted her into action. Picking up her skirts, she ran after him, catching him just before he disappeared around the corner.

'Jareth…'

He shook her hand off.

'Jareth, please,' she pleaded, grasping his arm once again.

He stopped and looked at her. There was nothing welcoming in his manner at all, and Sarah faltered under his icy gaze. Even at his scariest, he hadn't looked like this. Nevertheless, she waded forward. She had to. For his sake, for her sake. Remember, Sarah, she told herself, it's written in the stars. He had to listen, to forgive.

'I have no right to ask,' she began, 'you've already been far too generous, but…'

'But what?'

Encouraged that he'd even asked, she took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and said as calmly as she could. 'After I've broken Toby's spell, I want to come back to the underground. Will you let me?'

'Come back?' He looked as though she'd hit him with a ton of bricks. 'To the Goblin City? Why?'

_Because I want to be near you. Because I want to know the man behind the Goblin King. Because I think I love you._

'Because,' she told him, 'I…well, I like it here.'

'You like it here?' He echoed, clearly stunned. 'Here? In this miserable, goblin-infested, rat hole where nothing is as it seems?'

'And I could be useful to you.'

'How?'

She was unprepared for the question. Her only thought had been to get him to agree to let her come back. She searched her mind for an answer. How could a Ph.D. in English Literature be useful to a Goblin King?

'I could teach the goblins how to read.' She said brightly.

'Read? My God, woman, what in the bog for?'

'A more literate citizenry would provide better disciplined troops.' When he didn't look sold, she tried another tactic. 'But if you prefer knuckle-headed cannon fodder to crack troops, that's your affair. You're the commanding officer. It was just a suggestion. But seriously, Jareth, I'd probably be better suited to categorizing the castle library to teaching goblins their ABCs. You have such a vast collection of books, too many and too valuable to let go to waste, and I could have them inventoried in, oh let's say about ten years?' She warmed to her subject. 'And then after that I could maintain them. Books that rare and old must be maintained, you know, kept at the right temperature and at the right humidity…'

'Sarah,' he said, breaking into her bibliophilic zeal, 'if you really want to return to the underground and make yourself useful, there's only one position suited for you.'

She looked at him eagerly. Now he was talking. 'What's that?'

He began pacing, back and forth, back and forth, his boot heels beating a slow, meditative rhythm upon the floor. Every now and then, he'd stop, give her a grave, thoughtful look before taking up his pacing once again. Sarah nearly squirmed with impatience.

Finally he said. 'It's a position of a great deal of responsibility and authority, second only to mine…'

'Prime minister?' She said, hazarding a guess.

Margaret Thatcher was a woman, and she was an excellent PM. Surely she could be so too with a little training. The underground wasn't nearly as complicated at the United Kingdom. Goblins were a pretty straight-forward, obedient bunch. You told them what to do, and they did it.

'No, not prime minister, but similar.' He said, continuing to pace. 'You'll have to devote vast amounts of your time and energy. There would be long days and even longer nights. You might find yourself quite exhausted at times, almost as if you'd gone a whole night without sleep. Would you have the stamina to handle such a grueling pace?'

Sarah remembered the nights she'd stayed up studying for a mid-term exam. Some nights she didn't get to bed until two or three in the morning and had lived on coffee the next day. Did the underground have coffee? She also wondered what kind of job would require such long nights. Entertaining perhaps?

'I'm used to late nights.' She told him.

He stopped and gave her a grave look. 'And patience. It would require an enormous quantity of patience. Is patience one of your virtues, Sarah?'

Not really. But compared to him, she was a saint in that particular category. Her boot would not be used for kicking goblins.

'I will endeavor to make it one.'

'Well, then,' Jareth concluded, walking over to her, 'the only thing left to do is offer you the position.'

She waited. He didn't offer. He just stood before her, gazing down at her with unreadable eyes. What was he waiting for, she mentally screamed. If he meant to keep her in suspense, her vow to work on improving her patience would fail before it even began.

'Well,' she finally said, 'aren't you going to make the offer?'

'I find myself strangely reluctant to do so.' He admitted. 'Once bitten, twice shy, they say.'

'Jareth…'

'The position I'm referring to is that of queen.'

'Queen of what?'

'Queen of the Goblins.'

'But that means I'd have to…'

'Marry me.'

She stared at him, not quite willing to believe her ears. After his earlier outburst, she hadn't expected, hadn't even allowed herself to hope for such a thing. Her only thought was to be near him, but not _that _near him. She wasn't even sure she was in love with him. She just suspected that she was or, with the right encouragement, could be. Well, Sarah, here's putting theory to the test.

'Do you think you could do that, Sarah?' He asked softly. 'Could you marry the Goblin King?'

_Don't defy the stars, Sarah Williams. What is meant to be is meant to be._

'Yes.'

She stood very still, staring up at him, that one word hanging between them, binding them together. It seemed to her that it echoed throughout the chasm below, ringing like the wedding bells it portended. Slowly, purposefully, Jareth bent, sliding an arm under he knees. She landed against his chest. Without a word, he carried her down the balcony. He paused at the doorway of her bedchamber as though waiting for her consent. Her eyes met his, giving him her answer. Shrugging aside the curtain, he strode inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

_Mornings of Gold_

_I'll paint you mornings of gold_

_I'll spin you valentine evenings_

_Though we're strangers 'til now_

_We're choosing the path between the stars_

_I'll leave my love between the stars_

Sarah woke with the song in her ears. It caressed her like a warm hand, drifting over her, teasing her to wakefulness. She smiled, reaching out a hand, searching. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she rose up on one elbow, the other arm clutched the sheets to her chest. A swath of tangled hair fell into her face and she impatiently pushed it aside as her eyes searched the room until she'd found him, sitting on the ledge of the open window, staring out across the chasm.

That morning, the morning after, she looked at him with new eyes, and she was eager to be near him once again. Slipping out of the bed, she grabbed his shirt from the floor and shrugged it on. Then she went to join him at the window.

'This that your handiwork?' She asked.

The sky beyond the mountains was a deep gold shot with streaks of pink and purple as the sun was just beginning to rise.

He turned to greet her and she was surprised at how much softer his features looked, the stern lines having been smoothed away. He was smiling as he reached for her.

'I'm afraid I can't claim credit for this one, my love.' He said, pulling her down on the ledge so that she rested within the cradle of his legs.

He'd taken time to pull on a pair of trousers before coming to sit at the window, but his feet and torso were bare. So it was with surprise that she noticed that he still wore his gloves. He'd worn them all night she remembered now as she leaned back against him and he closed his arms around her like protective wings.

'It's very beautiful here.' She murmured.

'It doesn't have goblins to befoul everything.' He replied, a bit of his old sarcasm returning.

'Is that any way to talk about your subjects?'

'I didn't ask for them. I inherited them.'

'So there was a Goblin King before you?' She asked, intrigued.

'Yes.'

'Was he your father?'

'No.'

By his short answers, she quickly got the hint that he was not interested in discussing his heritage so she went back to her original topic. 'Who rules the mountains?'

'No one.' He said simply. 'Unless you wish to count the High King. Many creatures live here, but they are generally peaceful and gentle in nature. Like your friend, Ludo. A few have tried to rule the mountains but have failed. The mountains rule only themselves. Even the dwarves that lived within them did not rule them. They merely borrowed them for a short while.'

'Who is the High King?'

There was a pause and then Jareth said. 'The High King is the High King. He has no proper name.'

She tilted her head to look up at him. 'But where is he?'

'Far beyond the sea.' And before she could ask any more questions, he said. 'I have a gift for you.'

'Not a crystal, I hope.'

He turned his hand over so that the palm lay upward. Against the black leather lay a silver necklace. Attached to the chain was a heart-shaped stone.

'It's beautiful.' She breathed, reaching out to touch the blood red heart with her fingertips. 'I've never seen a stone like it.'

'That's because you've never seen a stone heart before.'

She jerked her fingers away. 'You're not trying to tell me that this is a,' she swallowed a little nervously, 'a real heart, are you?'

He nodded. 'That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you.'

'Where did you get it?' She asked, dreading the answer.

'It's a piece of my own.' He told her, unfastening the clasp and putting it around her neck. 'Don't ask me how it's done. It's just magic. Wear it near your own, and whenever you need me or want me, clasp it in your hand and ask it to take you to me, and it will.'

'Are you intending to get lost?'

'It's a big castle.' He quipped with a quick smile before he suddenly became serious, deathly serious. 'Sarah, the underground is a wild and dangerous place. You have experienced only a small part of it, but there are forces more treacherous, more malevolent than those found in the Dark Wood or my labyrinth. I have enemies, and while they cannot overcome me, they could very easily overcome you. If you are to be my queen, you must be protected. If anything happened to you, if any denizen of this wretched place harmed you in any way,' he looked away and she saw his throat move convulsively as though he were swallowing back a very strong emotion, 'I could not bear it. As long as you wear this heart, I will know where you are and you will know where I am.'

She sat up, turning on the ledge until she was facing him. She touched his cheek where the stern lines had returned. 'I will wear it always. I only wish I could give you something of equal value.'

'You already have.' He told her, taking her face between his hands. 'You've agreed to become my queen. You don't know how long I've waited for you, Sarah.'

'From my cradle?' She asked.

He drew back slightly. 'Who told you that?'

'The spellmaster. He said you'd chosen your queen from her cradle.'

'Is that _all_ he told you?' There was a cautious note in his voice that puzzled her.

'He said it was written in the stars.'

'And so it is.'

She sighed, melting against him as his lips took hers . A few minutes later, he was up and carrying her to the bed. Would it always be like this, she wondered as he followed her down into the mussed sheets, his hands quickly removing the borrowed shirt. She smiled, wrapping her arms around him. Well, he had mentioned long nights.

It was only afterwards, while Jareth dozed, that she remembered the cautious note in his voice that had so puzzled her. Was there something he and the spellmaster weren't telling her? Did it matter?

They left the spellmaster's keep shortly after ten in the morning, headed due east. She was no longer frightened of the sensation of soaring so free and unencumbered and lifted her head almost immediately upon take-off. She watched with interest as the mountains, blue-green in the surrounding mist, and then the Dark Wood, black as the heart of the woman who ruled it, passed beneath them.

As they reached the eastern border of the Wood and were getting ready to cross into Goblin territory, the great griffins, who had insisted on escorting them due to flying monkeys still being active in the area, wheedled to the left and turned for home. She watched them go with a sad heart for they were some of the noblest creatures that she'd met in the underground, and she could well understand why Ludo had returned to the mountains. It was an oasis of peace in a strange and dangerous world.

In the distance, she saw the Goblin City, just a dark smudge on the orange horizon. As they flew closer, a feeling of unease began building within her. Something wasn't right, she thought, studying the landscape beneath them. Smoke was spiraling upwards, smoke that she was sure wasn't coming from the goblin huts, and the labyrinth didn't look nearly as large and sprawling as it once had. It looked, she decided, like a war zone. Jareth must have been thinking the same thing for he swooped closer, circling the city many times before landing within what she could only assume was his own bedchamber.

'What's going on?' She asked as soon as they were back to their original forms.

But Jareth was already striding for the door, barking over his shoulder as he went. 'Find Tupperware and have her move your belongings in here.' Then as soon as he was in the hallway, he bellowed. 'Rum-Blot! Where the bog are you, you miserable little scab?'

Sarah hurried after him. She was just as concerned about the Goblin City as he was. Moving her belongings could wait. She followed him through the corridors, ranting and raving and swinging his crop at a furious pace. Where he'd gotten it, she didn't have a clue, but it seemed to be his favorite weapon of choice when he was angry or worried.

The door of the throne room crashed open, sending chickens and goblins flying, as Jareth returned to his kingdom. He stalked back and forth angrily, kicking goblins out of his way as he continued to bellow for Rum-Pot. Sarah longed to soothe him, but he was beyond being soothed. He was the Goblin King in high temper.

He grabbed a stout goblin with a goat-like nose up by the ear and demanded. 'Where is he? Where's that insufferable little toad? Out with it or I'll send you to the bog.'

'I…uh…I…uh…' the goblin blubbered.

Jareth tossed him aside and snagged another specimen by the neck of his dirty jerkin, shaking him like a rat before asking. 'Well? Where's the bog is he?'

'With…with the troops.' His latest victim squeaked.

'What troops?' Jareth demanded. 'We don't have any troops. What the bog is going on around here?'

Just then Hoggle burst into the room.

'Sarah!' He exclaimed. 'Thank the bog you're back! You've got to stop that crazy fox! He's bound and determined to charge the line. And he's convinced fifty goblins to go with him.'

'Hoggle,' Sarah said, stooping down so she could look him in the eye, 'what's going on around here? Why does half the labyrinth look like it's been run over by a bulldozer?'

'It's her!' Hoggle said. 'She attacked the labyrinth two days ago. The place was in an uproar when we got back. Goblins running everywhere, flying monkeys dropping exploding firepots from the sky. If it hadn't been for that fox, we would have been overrun. He stopped them before they reached the city gate, but now he wants to counterattack.' He grasped Sarah's sleeve and tugged urgently. 'Come on! He was just wrapping up his rallying speech when I left to find you.'

Hoggle turned to lead the way, still pulling at Sarah, and ran headlong into Jareth who had placed himself between the dwarf and the door. 'It's _my_ labyrinth, Hogworm, and if anyone's going to stop a daft fox, it'll be me and no one else. Got that?'

'Got it.'

'Then lead me to him.'

When Sarah made to follow, Jareth whirled around, pointing the crop at her. '_You_ will stay here.'

'But…'

Dark eyes snapped at her. 'I _said_ to stay.'

Sarah watched as Hoggle shuffled off with Jareth on his heels, nearly running the little dwarf over in his impatience. Any minute now he's going to grab Hoggle by the ear and drag him, Sarah thought as she stomped her way up the stairs. She did not like being told to stay like some dog, but in his current mood, she was not going to defy him. He was all Goblin King right then, and even though she was annoyed at his treatment of her, she could understand it. His kingdom had been attacked. Any king, Goblin or not, would be in a high temper.

She spent the morning transferring the contents of her wardrobe to Jareth's bedchamber without Tipper's help. She was rather shocked to see that he had just as much clothing as she had, and she was worried for a moment or two that it would not all fit. However, the more she stuffed inside, the more it seemed to expand. Leave it to him to have a magic wardrobe, she thought, shutting the door with a snap.

After taking a glance out the window and seeing nothing that would tell her what was going on, she took herself off to the library. There she began the task of organizing the vast collection of books. When noon came and went with no news, she kept working. But when she looked up and saw darkness falling beyond the grimy windows, she put away the book she'd been leafing through and left the library.

She was standing at the window of the bedchamber well after six o'clock when she heard a footstep behind her. She turned, expecting to see Jareth, but it was Tipper carrying a tray.

'I brought you dinner, milady.'

'Uh, thank you, Tipper. Please put it on the table.'

'There's a lovely bit of chocolate cake.' Tipper said. 'The cook made it special.'

'Great.'

Hadn't Jareth said that everything the goblins cooked tasted like the bog? She wasn't especially keen on tasting this latest offering even if chocolate cake was one of her favorites.

'And we got out the best silverware for you.' The goblin continued. 'Seeing as how you're going to be queen.'

'Who told you that?'

'Why it's all over the place.' Tipper looked at her, her little black eyes curious. 'Has there been a mistake, milady? I saw you moving your things this morning, and you _are_ in the master's bedchamber.'

'Yes, well, I think that question is best answered by the king himself.' Sarah said, feeling a blush rising to her cheeks. 'Thank you for the tray, Tipper. Please go now.'

The goblin left and Sarah returned to the window. The Goblin City was dark, unusually dark, and in the distance bonfires were burning. She wondered if they'd been built by the goblins or Morwenna's forces. The suspense was nearly killing her. It was really too bad of Jareth not to send word, to let her know what was going on.

She was thinking how being a queen was not all it was cracked up to be when a glowing green light whizzed past her face. She thought for a moment that it must be a faerie but then remembered that faeries were generally day creatures in the underground. A firefly perhaps? She leaned over the ledge, searching the area below.

Suddenly the light returned and hovered right in front of her face. It wasn't a faerie, and it wasn't a firefly. It was a teardrop-shaped orb or crystal, and as she watched it began to spin, slowly at first and then faster, changing shapes until it resembled a merry-go-round. She watched, fascinated, as she saw herself as a little girl, being held upon a brightly colored horse, by her mother. She was laughing, tossing back her dark head to look up at her mother.

The merry-go-round was growing, becoming large enough for the adult Sarah to step upon. She lifted her foot but missed. She tried again and again and continued to miss. The horses whirled by and there was her mother, holding out her hands to her, beckoning. She redoubled her efforts, nearly running to keep up with the horses who were taking her mother away.

'Mommy!' She called as though she were that little girl again. 'Mommy, wait! Don't leave me!'

'Hurry, Sarah!' Her mother urged. 'The horses are getting tired!'

And then the horses left the merry-go-round, spinning off into a single line, bobbing up and down, carrying her mother away.

'No!' She cried, running, falling and then running again. 'Don't leave me!'

She struggled against what felt like bands of iron that suddenly restricted her, kept her from chasing after the horses. And a loud voice was shouting at her, so loud she placed her hands over her ears.

'Sarah!' The voice commanded. 'Open your eyes!'

The voice was so compelling, so demanding that she tried to obey.

'That's it.' The voice continued. 'Open them, Sarah. Open them now!'

Her eyes popped open as if a spring had been released, and she found herself looking up in to the face of the Goblin King.

'Where,' she glanced around, surprised to see goblin faces peering back at her, crowding around her, 'where am I?'

'You're at the gate.' He told her. 'You nearly left the city for the labyrinth.'

She felt like she was coming out of a dream. 'But I was in the castle. How did I get here?'

'The same way you got to the masquerade ball, I suspect.' Jareth said, his voice hard. 'But this time it wasn't of my doing. Do you remember any of it?'

'I was looking out the window and there was this green light.' She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember. 'It was a crystal, but not like yours. It was shaped like a teardrop, and it began spinning, and then it became a merry-go-round, and I was chasing the horses. They were taking my mother away.'

'Higgle!' Jareth barked over his shoulder. 'Take Sarah back to the castle and stay with her until I say otherwise.'

Hoggle appeared and started to urge her away. She resisted. 'Jareth, what's going on? Tell me. I've been waiting all day.'

'Not now, Sarah.' He said. 'Later. I'm almost done here.'

There was such weariness in his voice that she allowed Hoggle to lead her away without another word. They walked through the streets of the Goblin City in silence, Sarah deep in thought and Hoggle unwilling to disturb her. When they reached the bedchamber, the silence continued as Sarah threw herself down on the bed and Hoggle took up residence in a chair by the door. He obviously took his guard duties seriously, and Sarah was content to leave him to it. She didn't want to talk to anyone but Jareth and that looked like it might take a while. Crossing her arms, she settled down to wait.

'Sarah. Wake up, love.'

Her lashes fluttered and then opened. The room was dark except for the moonlight streaming in through the window. At some point the firepots must have burned out. Jareth was sitting on the edge of the bed near her hip, the moonlight silvering his hair and features, giving him a cold, other-worldly look.

She struggled up on an elbow. 'What…what time is it?'

'Late.' Jareth said, getting up and walking over to the table where Sarah's dinner still sat. He lifted the napkin.

'Hmm, chocolate cake.' He murmured, dropping the linen back into place, 'Grog will be disappointed that you didn't eat it. You wouldn't think it, but goblins can be bloody sensitive. He'll be banging his pots around for a fortnight.'

'Jareth,' she called, 'come to bed. You look exhausted.'

He tossed her a brief, pointy-toothed smile. 'Any other time I'd be more than happy to oblige, my dove, but right now, I have other things on my mind. I couldn't sleep even if I put a sleeping spell on myself.'

She swung her legs to the floor and stood up, coming over to him. 'The labyrinth?'

'Nearly destroyed.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. I can easily create another one.' He shot her another pointy-toothed grin. 'It needed improvement anyway. According to cheeky fifteen year olds, it didn't look hard enough.'

'And the city?'

'The gate and wall are secure. Morwenna and her cohorts won't be able to penetrate it any time soon. It was careless of me to leave without taking precautions. If it hadn't been for that little friend of yours, daft though he is, we would have been completely overrun. Goblins are pretty well useless without someone to tell them what to do.'

She landed a hand on his arm. 'It's my fault, isn't it?'

'I won't deny that you have a way of distracting me,' he admitted, 'but I've been aware of Morwenna's intentions for some time. In my arrogant belief that I was invincible, in my inattention, I've allowed her to become a larger threat than she has a right to be.'

'Why does she hate you so much?'

There was a long silence, and Sarah wondered if he were going to ignore her question. Finally he said. 'We were betrothed once.'

Betrothed? To that woman? Sarah felt her lip begin to curl in disgust.

'Did you,' the thought gave her a strange little ache near her heart, 'love her?'

'It wasn't that kind of betrothal.' He said, leaving her to stalk over to the window. He stared out across the city for a few long moments before saying. 'It was arranged by the previous Goblin King and her mother. It was a marriage of convenience, a means of joining our two kingdoms together.'

'And what happened?'

'I broke it off.'

'Why?'

Again silence, long and heavy, before he said softly. 'Because something I thought was lost to me was suddenly found.'

She was dying to ask him what that something was, but she could tell by his expression that he was not going to say anything else on the subject. So she asked her next question. 'Did she love you? Is that why she hates you? Because you broke her heart?'

He sent her a wry look. 'I can see you haven't lost any of your love of melodrama over the years.' When she looked ready to protest, he quickly continued. 'I told you, Sarah, it wasn't that kind of betrothal. She wanted the Goblin Kingdom, and the only way she could get it was by marrying me. I wouldn't have been surprised to find hemlock in my wine after a couple weeks of wedded bliss. She's that type of female. My mistake was in not recognizing the extent of her fury. But she won't take me by surprise again.' He held out a gloved hand. 'Come here, Sarah.'

She placed her hand in his, and he pulled her over to the window so that she stood in front of him, caged within his arms as they gazed out across the city to the labyrinth beyond. A light breeze, smelling of wood smoke lifted and tangled their hair together. They stood like that for several minutes before he finally spoke.

'Behold, the Goblin City.' He murmured against her ear. 'I have asked you to be its queen, and you have agreed. I thought I could protect you with the necklace, but this evening, I learned differently. You are human, and humans are weak. No, no, I'm not insulting you.' He said when she tensed against him. 'I mean weak in the sense that they have no magical ability. Sarah, you nearly walked out of the city and into her clutches. If she got a hold of you, she could very easily bring me to my knees. Therefore, you must return to the aboveground until I've dealt with her…'

'Please, Jareth,' Sarah interrupted, 'don't send me away.'

'Let me finish.' He admonished her. '_Or _you must be given the power to protect yourself.'

Sarah felt a trickle of apprehension. She didn't want to return to the aboveground for longer than it took to wake Toby up, but she also didn't like the direction this conversation was going. It sounded as if magical powers could be given, and if they could be given, then they could be taken away.

She glanced around uneasily. In the underground, listening ears could be everywhere. She must stop him before he went any further.

'If you think it best for me to stay in the aboveground…' she began.

'No, I do not.' He snapped. Obviously her acquiescence had not pleased him. 'You shall stay with me.'

It was a command, not a request, and she struggled not to snap back at him. As he had said, the position of Goblin Queen would require a great deal of patience, especially when dealing with the Goblin King. His authoritative nature could be very…abrasive. But her irritation was quickly diverted by his next words. They sent panic through her.

'I have another gift for you.'

Her fingers went to the heart on its silver chain. 'Oh, but this one is plenty. Please, Jareth, don't spoil me.'

A wooden box carved with faeries and ivy vines suddenly appeared on the ledge before her.

'Open it.' He said against her ear.

Reluctantly she lifted the lid. Inside was a pair of gloves.

'But I don't wear gloves.'

'You'll wear these.' He told her.

She watched as he took her left hand and picked up the corresponding glove. Carefully he placed it on her hand, much as he would a wedding ring if they were in the aboveground. He repeated the process with the right hand until she wore both gloves. Instantly she felt the power. It seemed to radiate down her palms and out her fingertips. She balled up her fingers into a fist in an effort to relieve the sensation.

'With these gloves,' he murmured, producing a crystal, which he placed in her hands, 'your power is equal to mine. With practice, you will be able to do everything I do.'

She stared at the crystal. It seemed to hover, waiting for her instructions. Placing his hands on either side of her own, Jareth slowly taught her how to maneuver the sphere, turning it this way and that, spinning it and rolling it, sending it floating in mid air. When he was satisfied that she had the hang of it, he dropped his own hands to her waist.

'You will learn as I did. Soon it will be second nature to you.'

'Learn?' She echoed. 'Weren't you just born with this ability?'

He shook his head. 'It doesn't work that way. Not for Goblin Kings. These,' his hands once again cupped her own, 'are where our power resides.'

The crystal suddenly fell, rolling across the floor, as Sarah turned, placing a hand over his mouth. 'Don't say any more. Please don't.'

He stared at her, obviously puzzled by her reaction. 'What's wrong? What are you afraid of?'

Sarah quickly stripped off the gloves and put them back in the box, closing it with a snap. 'You don't know who might be listening. Especially now with the Dark Queen just beyond the labyrinth.'

'She can't get beyond the ring of my protection.' Jareth scoffed.

'Maybe she can't.' Sarah agreed. 'But do you think she's above employing spies? As you said, Jareth, you have enemies. With the right incentive, they would gladly betray you, and they, my dear Goblin King, are far more dangerous than witches or sorceresses or even medusas because they're not on your radar screen. They're small fry as far as you're concerned, so insignificant compared to you that they aren't worth your notice. Well, believe me, hot shot, they're the ones that bring down fortresses. It's not the generals that kill. It's the GIs.'

She stopped to catch her breath, surprised at her own passion. But he _had_ to understand. His kingdom depended on it. She _knew_ the lengths to which Morwenna would go. After all, hadn't _she_ been pressed into service by her? When she realized that Sarah had double crossed her, wouldn't she just try another way?

'Although I must admit to not understanding half of what you said,' Jareth drawled, 'I'm impressed by your fervor. One would think that you cared.'

'Of course, I care!' Sarah exclaimed. 'Would I have agreed to be queen of this goblin-infested bog on the edge of nowhere if I didn't?'

They stared at each other for a few tense minutes and then Jareth swung her up into his arms, striding with her through the antechamber into the bedchamber where he tossed her onto the scarlet red coverlet, unlacing and unbuttoning clothing as he followed her down. Sarah's hands were equally busy. Goblin Kings wore a hell of a lot of buttons.

It was some time before Jareth asked, 'Tell me, Sarah, what exactly _is_ a radar screen?'

Jareth stood at the window, complimenting himself on another gold morning with which to greet his beloved. This one, too, he could not take credit for, but he congratulated himself all the same for he was feeling in a particularly generous mood. If there'd been a bar in the Goblin City, he would have bought a round for everyone. Why? Because Sarah _loved_ him. Of course, she hadn't said it, but her actions were saying everything her mouth hadn't.

The only fly in his ointment was that witch on the edge of his labyrinth. What to do with Morwenna? He couldn't destroy her because her power was as great as his. Yet they couldn't continue to live with her menacing their borders. She had to be confronted and defeated. The question was how.

He scowled. Damn Aldrich for arranging that betrothal and damn him for agreeing to it. But he'd been distraught, not thinking straight, mourning the loss of the Beloved. Thank the bog that the normal timeframe for a betrothal was two to three years. Otherwise, he might have been married to the witch before he'd heard the rumor. But the damage had already been done. Morwenna had been scorned, and wasn't there something in the humans' literature about hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?

Going once again to the High King would do no good. They would appear like squabbling children, unable to get along. If the High King were consulted again, he might just decide to take both their kingdoms away, and then where would he be? What good was a Goblin King without a kingdom? There was always the aboveground, he reminded himself. If Dreeble could make a go of it so could he. After all, he was the one who'd given that goblin his or rather her singing voice.

He was imagining what life as a rock star might be like when the door opened and the female goblin he'd assigned to Sarah tripped in carrying a tray. He scowled. He was not accustomed to having his morning tea delivered by anyone but Rum-Pot.

'Where's Rum-Splotch?' He demanded.

'At the gate.' Tipper replied, unloading the tray. Off went a teapot and one tea cup.

'What the bog is he doing there? He's supposed to be delivering my tea.'

'I'm delivering your tea today.' Tipper told him. 'Shall I pour out?'

'No, I'll do that myself.' Jareth declared with an impatient wave of his hand. 'Go away.'

She made a rather clumsy curtsey and tripped out.

What the devil was Rum-Pot doing at the gate? It was secure. He'd seen to it himself last night. If that blasted fox was mounting a charge again, he'd…Jareth stalked over to the table, poured himself a cup of tea and downed it in one gulp. He winced at the bitter taste before turning…and collapsing to the floor in a heap.

The door opened and Tipper slipped inside. She walked over to the fallen Goblin King and removed first one and then the other glove. And then she left, closing the door softly behind her.

When Sarah found Jareth lying on the floor a few minutes later, she was instantly concerned. When she discovered his gloves were missing, she was seriously alarmed. She was up, moving toward the box containing her own gloves, when the door of the antechamber was thrown open and Morwenna swept inside.

She hadn't changed much since Sarah had last seen her. One look from those slanted green eyes still turned Sarah's blood to ice, and it was getting very chilly, Sarah decided, as Morwenna looked at her from across the room. To say she was triumphant was an understatement. If she'd been the white cat, she would have been licking the cream from her whiskers just then.

'So, Sarah Williams, we meet again.' The Dark Queen intoned. 'I would say congratulations on a job well done, but you didn't do this job, did you? You spent your limited and very precious time here trying to find a way around our little bargain.'

'Guilty as charged.' Sarah said with a defiant lift of her chin. 'Nothing could make me betray the Goblin King.'

'How touching.' Morwenna sneered. 'Yet despite your best efforts, you handed Jareth over to me as surely as if you'd been the one who put the sleeping potion in his tea. He, lovesick fool that he is, told you what I wanted to know, and there were others listening that weren't blinded by,' her lip curled, 'what your poets call _love_.'

Her worse fears had been realized. Someone had been listening last night, someone as treacherous, as unprincipled, as deceitful as Morwenna herself.

'Who was it?' Sarah demanded. 'Who was listening?'

'Are you sure you want to know?' Morwenna asked.

'Yes.'

'Very well.' She turned her head slightly and called over her shoulder. 'Tupper! Show yourself to the fair heroine.'

The little goblin tripped into the room, carrying Jareth's black gloves in one beefy hand so that her complicity could not be denied. She stopped beside her mistress and looked a t Sarah with not a hint of remorse or shame on her ugly face.

'Tupper.' Sarah said. 'How could you? How could you ally yourself with such a woman?'

'I want to be a princess and wear ball gowns like the ones in your wardrobe. I want long, golden hair like Rapunzel.' Tupper said as though it were the most natural reason in the world for treason. 'And she said she'd make me one.'

'Oh, Tupper, why?' Sarah said sadly. 'Jareth would have done those things for you too.'

A rebellious look came over the goblin's face. 'No, he wouldn't. He didn't even know my name. He calls me Tupperware or Tinkerbell.'

'He never calls anyone but their correct name.' Sarah said.

'Yes, he does.' Tupper insisted. 'He always calls you by your right name. He always calls you Sarah.'

'That's because he _loves_ her, my pet.' Morwenna broke in. 'She's the Beloved, the precious thing.'

Sarah ignored her taunts and focused on Tupper. 'Do you really think this woman is going to keep her promise to you?'

Before Tupper could answer, Morwenna did it for her. 'Unlike some,' she flicked a glance at Jareth, 'The Queen of the Dark Wood always keeps her promises. Everything Tupper just said she wanted will be given to her.' Her eyes slid to the little goblin. 'Tupper, my jewel, take the gloves and put them in the fire.'

The hearth that had been empty until that moment suddenly burst to life. Sarah watched in horror as Tupper did as she was commanded, tossing the gloves upon the grate. Flames licked at the offering greedily, but to Sarah's surprise and the Dark Queen's ire, the gloves remained intact.

'Damn him!' Morwenna cursed, her beautiful face screwing into a mask of hatred. 'I should have known he'd make them indestructible.'

Sarah felt like laughing in delight. Jareth had thwarted her.

But the Dark Queen was not to be denied. 'Retrieve them.' She ordered Tupper. 'I shall have to make a very special holding place for these little darlings.'

The fire went out as quickly as it had been lit, and Tupper reached inside. As soon as they were back in the goblin's hand, Morwenna snatched them from her, tucking them in the silver belt she wore around her waist. She then turned to Sarah, smiling that cold smile of hers.

'Now then what will we do with you?' She tapped her cheek thoughtfully. 'I could put you where I'm going to put Jareth, but that's precisely what you want me to do. Humans are such romantics. You no doubt think dying together is something to be preferred. No,' she shook her head, 'no, I think the best thing to do is to show you how well I keep my promises. Since you indirectly delivered Jareth into my hands, I will honor my side of the bargain.' She fingered the green gem hanging from the collar around her neck. 'Goodbye Sarah Williams. I have lifted the spell on your brother, and he's eagerly waiting for your return. We mustn't keep the dear lad waiting, must we?'

'No!' Sarah exclaimed, taking a step toward her. 'No, wait!'

But it was too late. In a whirl of spinning green color, the Goblin Castle began to fade as her bedroom back home began to take shape.

'Sarah! Her stepmother's voice called excitedly. 'Sarah, come quick! Toby's awake and he's asking for you.'

But Sarah ignored her. She dropped to her knees, burying her face in her hands and crying over and over again like a chant, 'Oh, Jareth, what have I done? What have I done?'


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

_As the World Falls Down_

Sarah touched the heart on the silver chain around her neck. It was no longer blood red. It had started to fade the day after her return and had been getting lighter and lighter every day since. Today when she'd looked in the mirror, it was stone, gray and cold. The discovery chilled her. Had it become like that because she was in the aboveground or was Jareth…dead? Not knowing was driving her crazy. She had to find a way back to the underground. She had to save Jareth if he were still alive.

She glanced at Toby who was sitting at the kitchen table, his head bowed over his homework. He'd had mountains of it since he'd been off school for over a month. Had he found a way into the underground or had Morwenna come looking for him? There was only one way to find out.

'Hey, Tobes,' she said, putting down the towel she'd been using to dry dishes, 'how about taking a walk down to the park with me?'

Toby glanced up. 'Sure! Anything to get away from homework. I'll get my coat.'

A few flakes of snow were drifting in the air as they let themselves out of the house. Sarah pulled her hat down tighter and shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat. Toby, however, didn't seem to notice. He skipped along with no hat and gloves, chattering about everything and anything. Sarah listened with only half an ear, her thoughts elsewhere. Let him get it out of his system, she thought. Then he'd be ready for a more serious discussion.

'When are you going back to the university?' Toby suddenly asked.

'I'm not going back.'

He looked surprised. 'Why?'

They'd reached the park. It was deserted except for a couple hearty joggers and an old lady, bundled up to her ears, feeding the geese that had not flown south.

'It's my fault, isn't it?' Toby persisted when she didn't answer. 'I know you missed your dissertation deadline because of me.'

'Who told you that?' She asked.

'Nobody. I overheard mom and dad talking.'

'It has nothing to do with you.' She told him.

'Then why aren't you going back? I thought you liked the university. I thought you liked that guy.'

'What guy?'

'Paul.'

Sarah shot him a glance. 'You overhear a lot, don't you?'

'How's a kid supposed to know anything if he doesn't?' There was a pause and then he said. 'So…do you like him?'

'I like him as a friend, nothing more. I wouldn't go back to Chicago for him.'

'Ah.' He sounds like a professor making some philosophical discovery. 'So what are you going to do? Stay here?'

'Let's sit down.' Sarah said, motioning toward a park bench. It was well away from the joggers and the old lady. 'I have something to tell you.'

'Ok.'

'I'm not going back to the university, and I'm not staying here either.' She began once they were comfortably seated. 'I'm going away, far away. At least I'm hoping to.'

'You mean to like to Paris?' Toby asked, clearly puzzled.

'Farther than that. Actually, Toby, I'm hoping to go to another world altogether.' When he continued to stare at her, perplexed, she tried again. 'I've got a story to tell you. About ten years ago when you were a baby, I…'

'Wow!' Toby breathed, his eyes as big as saucers when she'd finished the story of their adventures in the labyrinth. 'We did that?'

'Yep.' Sarah said. 'We did that.'

He frowned. 'I wish I'd been old enough to remember. I would have liked to have seen the labyrinth.'

'You've never seen it?' She asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

'Nope. I've only heard of it.'

'From the book?'

He shook his dark head. 'Nope. Not from the book. From Merib.'

Sarah's heart fluttered hopefully. 'Who's Merib?'

'I guess I can tell you since you've been there and won't think I'm making up tales like mom does.' He looked this way and that and then leaned toward her, saying in an exaggerated whisper. 'She's a water sprite I met one day when I was here pretending I was Sir Lancelot.'

Sarah stared at him. 'You mean here? At the park?'

'I was standing by the bridge, wishing I had someone to play the Lady of Shallot, when I looked into the water and saw a face. It wasn't my face. It was a girl's face. I looked around, but there was nobody near me so I knew it couldn't be a reflection. I looked closer, and suddenly I was in the water. I tried to swim to the shore, but inside of going up, I kept going down. It was like something was pulling me, and then it let go, and I started to swim again. When I broke the surface, I wasn't in the park any longer. I was in pond in the middle of a dark forest. The girl was sitting on the bank, laughing at me. She called herself Merib. After that, I went back often. She plays a great Lily Maid of Astolat even if she doesn't know who Lord Tennyson is.'

Sarah was thinking that a boy like Toby wouldn't know who Lord Tennyson was either if it hadn't been for his overly romantic sister.

'So this Merib has told you about the labyrinth?'

He nodded. 'She wants to see it too, but she's not allowed to leave the Dark Wood. That's where she lives.' He added. 'The person who calls herself the queen has put a spell on it so anyone who lives there can't leave. But Merib says no one rules the Dark Wood. It rules itself. That's why this so-called queen had to put a spell on it.'

'Do you think we could go there now?'

'Sure.' He said. 'But you'll have to take off your stuff. You can't swim in a winter coat.'

Reluctantly, Sarah removed her coat, hat and gloves and followed Toby to the edge of the pond, near the bridge. She shivered as a cold breeze found itself way through her cable knit sweater, and she wondered how they'd ever survive the cold water. Her stepmother would never forgive her if Toby ended up back in the hospital with hypothermia.

But Toby didn't seem at all concerned. He'd removed his own coat and was standing on the bank, looking at her. 'Ready?'

'As ready as I'll ever be.' She muttered, hoping there was no one around to see them. Otherwise, they'd be reported as suicide jumpers.

Sarah watched as her brother dived into the pond and disappeared beneath the surface. Taking a deep breath and bracing herself for the icy impact, she followed and was instantly surprised at how warm the water was for a day in November. And it continued to get warmer and warmer as they went further and further down. Then the darkness they'd been heading towards changed, becoming a murky green that grew brighter and brighter. They broke the surface, first Toby and then Sarah.

She glanced around, treading water. Yep. It was the Dark Wood. There was no mistaking those ancient trees with their twisted roots and gnarled branches. In this particular spot, moss hung like great ropes, trailing their fingers into the murky green water.

'That's weird.' Toby said as they pulled themselves out of the pond. 'Merib isn't on the bank. She's always on the bank.'

'She didn't know you were coming.' Sarah told him, pulling the heart out from beneath her sweater.

It was red again, but the color had faded. Jareth was alive, but for how long? She had the heart clasped in her hand, ready to ask it to take her to Jareth when Toby suddenly burst out from behind a tree. She jumped, dropping the heart.

'Toby, you scared me half to death!'

'Sarah!' He cried, ignoring her complaint. 'Her home…it's been ransacked.'

'That's too bad.' Sarah said, picking up the heart once again. She didn't have time to worry about a water sprite she'd never met.

But Toby had other plans. He caught her arm and tugged insistently. 'Come on, Sarah, you've got to see it.'

'Toby, I don't have time for this.' Sarah said irritably.

'But she's my friend.' He insisted. 'I've got to find her. Something terrible might have happened to her.'

Sarah sighed. She could see that her brother was genuinely concerned about his friend, and she had a pretty good idea who was responsible for Merib's disappearance. 'We will find her. I promise. But we've got to save Jareth first.'

'Jareth?' Toby echoed. 'You mean the Goblin King? Why would we want to save him? I thought he was the one who took me from you.'

'He did.' Sarah said. 'But he was only doing what I'd asked him to do.'

Toby stared at her, wide-eyed. 'You asked him to take me?'

Sarah nodded, feeling terrible about it all over again. 'You were crying and wouldn't stop and I was feeling very put upon by your mother so I did a very silly thing. I asked the Goblin King to take you away, and he did.'

'So he didn't just take me because he's bad?'

'He's not bad.' She said. 'Yeah, he's got a nasty temper, and he can be damn arrogant at times, but he's doesn't go around stealing babies for the fun of it. He'd granted me special powers because,' she paused, suddenly remembering the part of the story she'd somehow forgotten all these years, 'because he'd fallen in love with me.'

Toby's eyes looked the size of saucers. 'The Goblin King was in love with you?'

'Not _was_, Toby, _is_.' She corrected. 'And he's asked me to be his queen, and I've accepted. That's why I'm not going back to the university. I'm staying in the underground with the Goblin King.'

There was a long silence and then a wide smile broke across Toby's face. 'Cool!' He exclaimed. 'Nobody at school will ever believe my sister is the Queen of the Goblins.'

She returned the smile. 'Well, I'm not going to be queen if we don't find Jareth before Morwenna destroys him.'

'Who's Morwenna?'

'The queen Merib told you about. She's the one who put the sleeping spell on you.'

'I had a sleeping spell on me?' Toby asked, once again wide-eyed.

Sarah nodded. 'Don't you remember how it happened?'

'I don't remember anything after the cat.'

'The cat? What kind of cat?'

'It was white, and it had a real nasty temper. It scratched me.'

'That was Morwenna. Like Jareth, she can change her form. She placed a spell on you, hoping to force me to betray him, but I found a cure to the spell instead.'

'Then why do we need to save the Goblin King?'

'Because she had a spy within the castle who overheard Jareth revealing to me the source of his power. She gave him a sleeping draft and removed his gloves. Without them, he's powerless. We have to find him before Morwenna destroys him completely.' Sarah chewed on her lip nervously. 'I wonder why she hasn't already.'

'But how are we going to find him?' Toby asked. 'It's a big place, and we don't know where he's at.'

Sarah held out her necklace for him to see. 'He gave me this. He said it was made from a piece of his heart…'

'Yuk!'

'And if I hold it in my hand and ask it to take me to him, it will. It used to be blood red, but now it's faded. I'm afraid he's dying.'

'Then what are we waiting for? Let's go.'

'I don't know if it'll take both of us.'

'It might if I hold onto you.'

'If it doesn't, promise me you'll jump back in that pond and go home.'

'But I've got to find Merib.'

'I'll find her. I promise.'

'Alright.' Toby agreed sullenly. 'But I sure hope that heart takes both of us.'

'Give me your hand.'

Taking hold of Toby with one hand and the heart with the other, she said, 'Take me to the Goblin King.'

Almost instantly they materialized within a stone hallway.

'Boy! That felt weird.' Toby said.

'You get used to it.'

'Where are we?' Toby asked, looking around curiously.

'It looks like a dungeon.'

There was a heavy oak door at the end of the hallway. Cut into the wood was an arched window lined with iron bars, and on the handle was a large paddock. Great, Sarah thought, hurrying up and putting her face to the window. It would have helped if the heart had been a little more accurate. How were they going to get through the paddock?

'I wonder if Merib's here. I'm going to have a look.'

'Be careful.' Sarah called as he sprinted off down the hallway in the opposite direction. 'There are probably guards somewhere.'

She turned back to the door and picked up the paddock. To her surprise, it came loose, falling to the floor. Was it a trap, she wondered, cautiously pulling the door open. She peered inside, searching the shadows that were deep and dark. The only light came from a high barred window. She followed the shaft of light. It fell along the wall and ended at a pair of boots. A pair of boots?

'Jareth!' She cried, rushing forward.

She didn't care about a possible trap. All she wanted to do was be near him again, to touch him and reassure herself that he was still alive. She dropped to her knees beside the boots, reaching out eagerly. Her fingers touched solid flesh, a shoulder maybe, but it jerked away from her as if burned with a hot iron.

'What's wrong? It's me. Sarah.'

There was a long silence and then Jareth spoke, his voice rough as sandpiper. 'Why have you come, Sarah?'

'What do you mean why have I come?' She asked, bewildered. 'I'm here to help you, to get you out of here. Why else would I have come?'

'To finish me off.' He suggested. 'To complete your revenge maybe?'

'What are you talking about? There was no _revenge_. At least not on my part. It's your old girlfriend that wants to finish you off, not me.'

'Morwenna took great delight in telling me how you were working for her. Do you deny it?'

'Yes, I deny it.' Sarah said hotly. 'I was never in that woman's employ.'

'Never?'

The sarcasm in that one word was thick, and Sarah struggled to control her temper. This was not the time to become combatants again. She was his only hope yet obstinate Goblin King that he was he chose to believe that witch rather than the evidence of his eyes. Would she be here if she wasn't on his side? Didn't love him? She wished she had those gloves he'd given her. She'd turn him into a toad for being so pig-headed.

Instead she said as calmly as she could. 'If I were working for her, why did I risk my life and the life of my friends to find the spellmaster?' When he didn't answer, she continued on, her voice becoming more and more passionate. 'You want the truth? Ok, here's the truth. Yes, she put the spell on Toby, and yes, I knew that when I called you. I knew who the spellweaver was. She said that she'd remove the spell if I discovered for her the source of your power, but I came here with the intention of finding a cure, not carrying out her evil plot. Did I hide the truth from you? Yes. I hid it from everyone, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, everyone but the spellmaster. Somehow he already knew. Deception was my crime, not treason.'

'If you didn't betray me, who did? There was no one else in that room that night.'

There was still defiance in his voice, dried and crackled sounding though it was.

'It was Tipper.' Sarah said with a sigh. 'She overheard our conversation and betrayed you for ball gowns and long, blonde hair. I found you lying on the floor of the antechamber, unconscious and gloveless. I can only assume that Tipper drugged you somehow.'

'The tea.' Jareth growled. 'It was in the tea. If I ever get out of here, she's going straight to the bog, long, blonde hair and all.'

'No, she won't.' Sarah retorted. 'That's why you're in this mess. If you were a more benevolent dictator, your subjects wouldn't be so eager to stick a knife in your back, or in this case, a drug in your tea.'

'Don't tell me how to rule my kingdom.'

'What kingdom?' She scoffed. 'The only kingdom you're ruling at the moment appears to be a dungeon, and it's not even a proper dungeon at that. The door was unlocked.'

Silence greeted her observation. She sat for a few minutes, still angry enough to let him stew in his own juices, before guilt started to assail her. It really wasn't fair of her to kick him when he was down, and he did have such a large ego. This was no time to tell him how to be a better dictator. That could wait until he was out of here and in possession of his throne room once again.

'You do believe me, don't you?' She asked.

There was what sounded like a sigh and then he said wearily as if the weight of the world was upon him. 'I haven't the energy not to.'

She reached out to touch him again. This time he didn't jerk away. He just sat, accepting her touch. 'Jareth,' she said, 'what's wrong? Why is the heart you gave me fading? Why do you sound so…tired?'

Again silence greeted her, and she wondered whether or not he was going to answer. But then she felt him move, sliding slowly into the light falling across the wall. He sat for a few seconds with his face turned away from her so that she could only see the spiky, blonde hair falling across his cheek and neck, and then he turned his head, looking her full in the face. She drew back with a gasp. He looked as thought he'd aged nearly twenty years.

'Jareth,' she breathed, 'what's happened to you? Surely she didn't do this to you.'

'In a roundabout way, yes, she did.' He said in that dry voice of his. 'She took the gloves, and it's the gloves that slow down the aging process. Without them, I'm returning to my real age, which is about one hundred and eighty four. The heart is fading because I'm fading. Within another day or two, I shall be no more, Sarah. I will have died from old age. That's why there's no lock on the door. She has no fear of me. She knows I'm too old and weak to be a threat to her.'

'Then you're human.' Sarah concluded. 'Like me.'

He nodded. 'Yes, I'm human. I was brought from the aboveground by the former Goblin King to be his heir. His name was Aldrich, and he found me on the streets of London, half frozen and starved to death. The year was 1812, and I'd been an orphan for as long as I could remember. I was raised in a workhouse, but I left when I was about ten years old.' He gave a little laugh. 'I should have stayed. At least I got fed there. When Aldrich offered me the chance to be a king, I didn't refuse even though I suspected that he'd escaped from a madhouse. Nevertheless, I went with him, and he brought me to the Goblin City where he began training me to be his heir.'

'Where is Aldrich now?'

'Dead. Goblin Kings do die, Sarah, but most live well into their fourth century.'

'Then you're young yet.'

'Comparatively speaking, yes.' He agreed. 'But without the gloves it's all irrelevant. I'll be dead within the week.'

'Then I'll just have to get them back for you.' She declared.

'Sarah, love,' he said gently, 'brave though you are, you're no match for Morwenna's power.'

'I took on the Goblin King and defeated his labyrinth.' She reminded him. 'And he's just as powerful as she is.'

A sad little smile lifted his drawn, pinched lips. 'You had an unfair advantage. He was in love with you.'

She looked at him. 'And does he love me still?'

'Do you need to ask such a question after all I've done for you?' He demanded, some of his energy returning. 'I moved the stars for you. I reordered time. I took the child when you asked me too, and I brought you back to the underground against my better judgment. I've asked you to be my queen, Sarah. Don't you understand what that means? There has never been a Goblin Queen. You would have been the first. I was prepared to break every Goblin tradition just to have you by my side. I made you equal to myself in power. I…' he stopped. Sarah's fingers were against his lips, silencing him.

'I love you too.' She said quietly. 'And I _will _get those gloves, and you _will_ be Goblin King once again.'

'Oh, you precious thing…' Jareth rasped, holding out his arms for her.

She went willingly and laid her head upon his breast. They sat like that for some time, listening to the drip of water somewhere in the dungeon, savoring the nearest of the other for perhaps the last time. Then Sarah sat up so she could look at him once again. Just in that brief time she'd been with him he seemed to have aged further. She mustn't delay any longer. There was work to be done.

'What about my gloves?' She asked in a business-like manner. 'Will they work?'

'I'm afraid not. They only work for the person for whom they've been made.'

'Could I make you another pair?'

He shook his head. 'You would need to be shown how. It's not a task for a novice.'

'Well, then,' Sarah said, getting up, 'it looks as though I shall have to go straight to the source.'

'Sarah…'

'Don't tell me not to do it.' She told him. 'I'd rather she turn me into a toadstool than live my life without you.'

'Then,' he said with a resigned sigh, 'you must get the gloves I made for you. With them you'll have a fighting chance.'

She knelt down quickly and kissed him. 'I must leave you now, but I'll be back. I promise.'

'Sarah.' He called as she reached the door. She stopped, hand on the iron handle, and looked back. 'For what it's worth, there's never been a time that I didn't love you.'

She flashed him a brilliant smile and then slipped from the room, nearly colliding with Toby as he came running down the hallway at breakneck speed.

'She's here!' He crowed. 'She's in the dungeon two levels down.'

'Good.' Sarah said, running back the way he'd came. 'We'll know where to find her when we return with Jareth's gloves.'

'But I'm sure we can get the key from the guards.' Toby insisted as they followed the corridor, which looped around and around like a corkscrew. They were obviously in some sort of tower. 'They look pretty stupid.' He added.

'Haven't got time, kiddo.' She shot back over her shoulder. 'We've got to get those gloves ASAP. Jareth's aging rapidly, and I think his estimate is off. I don't think he'll last out the day. When we come back for him, we'll release your friend as well. It's not like she's going anywhere.'

'Ok.' Toby said reluctantly before asking. 'Where are we going?'

'To the Goblin Castle.'

'But that could be miles away.' Toby exclaimed. 'How are we going to get there?'

'Good question.' Sarah said as they reached the ground floor of the tower.

She paused to catch her breath and to think. How were they going to get to the Goblin Castle? She suspected that they were currently in Morwenna's castle keep, which was probably located deep within the Dark Wood. Even if they walked all night, there was no guarantee that they'd make it to the Goblin City by daybreak. Toss in the strange creatures they were likely to meet and that estimate went right out the door. They'd need some type of transportation. But what? Did Morwenna keep a stable? A closet full of brooms perhaps?

Walking over to a barred window, she looked out. Spreading out from the window was a courtyard, bordered on each side by high windowed walls, connected together at each corner by towers similar to the one they were in. And beyond that, she wondered. There was only one way to find out. She went over to the heavy oak door and pushed it open cautiously.

To her surprise, there were no guards. The door and courtyard were deserted.

'Where are those guards you mentioned?' She asked as they slipped into the courtyard.

'They're probably still following the car.'

'Car? What car?'

'The remote car Aunt Linda got me for my birthday. I always carry it around with me. It did a great job getting those goons away from Merib's cell.'

They'd reached the double gates leading out of the courtyard and were about to pass through when Sarah stopped, her eyes on the two stone statutes flanking the gate on either side. They reminded her of the Fu Lions in front of her favorite Chinese restaurant back home, but these lions were different. They had wings. She looked at their wings and then at their mouths, open as if in mid roar, and suddenly the spellmaster's words were drifting through her head. _No one can sleep with the blood of the fire serpent on their tongue._

Being a stone statute wasn't quite the same as sleeping, she told herself as she reached for the tiny vial that she'd carried with her since leaving the spellmaster's mountain keep, but it was worth a try. Unstopping the vial, she dropped two little splashes of blood red liquid on the first big tongue and then stood back to watch.

'Why'd you do that for?' Toby asked, curious.

'Hopefully to wake a lion up.'

'But you can't wake up these lions.' He protested. 'They're made of stone.'

He reached out a hand as though to tap on the lion's snout and then drew back as the large tongue moved. It curled itself forward and back before letting out a tremendous roar, which seemed to wake the rest of the lion's large, powerful body.

'He doesn't look too friendly.' Toby whispered to her.

'_Who woke me?_' The lion demanded. Its voice seemed to echo.

'I did.' Sarah declared.

'And why did you do that?'

'I was hoping you'd do us a little favor.'

'A favor?' The lion repeated, looking down his broad nose at her with fiery, red eyes. 'Lions do not do favors.'

'Why not?' Sarah asked.

The lion opened his mouth, rolled his eyes to the side and then shut it again. He stayed like that for a minute or two, his expression perplexed, before he finally said. 'I do not know.'

'Then lions might do favors after all, and you're just not aware of it.'

'Perhaps.' The lion agreed reluctantly. 'But it would depend on the favor. Some favors are not worth doing. What do you want?'

'I want you to fly us to the Goblin City.'

'The Goblin City?' The lion asked in an incredulous voice. 'Why do you want to go there? It's full of goblins. Much better to go to the mountains. My cousins, the griffins, live there.'

'Yes, I know.' Sarah said. 'But we must go to the Goblin City. We have business there.'

The lion thought for a moment or two and then said. 'I shall do this favor for you if you do one for me.'

'Name it.'

'Wake up my wife, Leone.'

'Done.'

'Put us down…right there.' Sarah said into the lion's large ear.

Leonidas, for that is what his name was, circled slowly before dropping lightly to the ground, his big, soft paws making no sound on the labyrinth's worn cobblestones. Leone, carrying Toby, followed.

'Thank you.' Sarah said, sliding off the lion's broad back. 'You've been very helpful.'

'Anything to defeat the witch.' Leonidas said. Morwenna as she had learned during the flight had turned the lions into statues simply because she wanted winged lions to guard her dungeon, and they were more than happy to help bring about her ruin. 'I wish you good fortune, Sarah Williams. Should you ever need us again, look for us in the mountains.'

And with that he and Leone soared majestically away.

'I rode on a flying lion, and I can't tell anyone, but they won't believe me.' Toby said sadly, following Sarah through the labyrinth.

She was looking for a particular flower pot. It was the quickest and stealthiest way back into the castle. Hopefully, it did not change its mind and lead them somewhere else. No one could ever be sure where things would lead in the labyrinth. Now where was it?

'Hey, Sarah,' Toby cried, 'there's a little guy over there spraying faeries. What a jerk.'

Sarah looked up. If anyone knew where that flower pot was, Hoggle did. How lucky for them that he was back at work.

'Hoggle!' She called, hurrying over to him. 'I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!'

Hoggle whirled around, pointing his spray gun at her. 'Get away from me!' He growled. 'Or I'll…I'll spray you…real good!'

Sarah stopped in her tracks. 'Hoggle, what's wrong? It's me. Sarah.'

'I know who you are.' He grumbled. 'And I ain't got no time for traitors. So,' he waved the gun, 'off with you.'

'Traitor!' Sarah exclaimed angrily. 'I'm not a traitor.'

'You're a traitor if I ever saw one.' Hoggle insisted. 'I admit I ain't no fan of Jareth's, but even I wouldn't turn him over to that witch who calls herself a queen.'

'I didn't turn him over.'

'No?' Hoggle asked, raising one shaggy eyebrow. 'Then why'd you leave him to pay the piper alone? I never saw such a miserable fellow. My heart went out to him, it did, and that's saying a lot, considering how snappish he's been to me over the years, calling me a scab and forcing me to give you that peach. He may have been a rat, but that so-called queen is a super rat. Why do you think I'm out here spraying faeries? Because everything's got to be just right for her coronation this afternoon. At least Jareth paid me for the work. I'm doing this for free, _and _I have to provide my own spray to boot. But at least I'm not the goblins. They have to get rid of all their chickens and pigs _and_ take baths! And there are rumors going around that next week, after her _majesty_ is firmly installed in the castle, the Goblin City will be torn down and the goblins banished to the labyrinth, what's left of it, anyway.'

'I'm sorry, Hoggle, truly I am.' Sarah said. 'But you've got to believe me. She sent me back to the aboveground as soon as Jareth's power was gone, and I couldn't get back until now. You know it was always he that brought me here. Fortunately, Toby had found another way in, and that's how I got back. Hoggle,' she said, looking at him with imploring eyes, 'I didn't betray Jareth. I couldn't. I love him.'

'Love him?' Hoggle echoed, dropping his gun a little. 'You love the Goblin King?'

'Yes.'

'You are drunk?' He demanded suspiciously.

'No, I'm not drunk.' She retorted.

'You talk like you are.' He muttered. 'No one's ever been in the love with the Goblin King. He wouldn't let'em even if they tried.'

'Well, he let me, and I am.' Sarah declared. 'And I've come back to save him, and if you believe any of this, I'd really appreciate your help.'

Hoggle seemed to debate all that she'd told him over in his head for a few minutes and then he lowered his gun. 'I won't believe it until I actually see it.' He said a bit sullenly. 'But I'm with you if it means getting Jareth back. You don't know how good you've got it until you ain't got it anymore. So what's the plan?'

Sarah resisted the urge to hug him. He didn't look in the least receptive. He might even spray her as he'd threatened. 'We've got to get into the Goblin Castle undetected. Do you know where the flower pot is that I came out of the other day?'

'Sure.' Hoggle said. 'I know every nook and cranny of this labyrinth. I could have gotten you through it sooner if Jareth hadn't ordered me not to. Come on.'

He led them to a large flower pot sticking out of the labyrinth wall like a drainpipe. Flowers were growing out of its mouth, their heads turning upwards toward the sun. Hoggle grabbed their stems and pulled. They came out roots and all. Tossing them over his shoulder with a grumble, he began brushing aside the remaining dirt.

'There you are.' He declared, presenting them for the empty pot. 'Just like the day you came out of it.'

Sarah looked at it dubiously. It looked a bit smaller to her, and she wondered if she'd be able to get her hips through the opening, but with Hoggle and Toby looking on with interest, she had little choice by to try. Grasping the rim, she put one leg in and then the other. To her surprise she slid in easily. Toby and then Hoggle followed and then all three of them were climbing the ladder upwards.

As before it was dark and claustrophobic, but she kept climbing, hand over hand, until her head bumped into something solid. Holding the ladder with one hand, she used the other to push at the solid object. It moved, letting in a shaft of light, and allowing her to peek out. It was the hallway outside of Jareth's bedchamber, and it was deserted. No doubt the goblins were too busy taking baths to patrol the castle corridors.

She slowly shoved the lid open and made sure it was securely leaning against the wall before climbing out. Toby and Hoggle followed, and she replaced the lid to its original resting place so as not to attract attention in case someone passed by. Together they crept down the hallway to Jareth's bedchamber, keeping close to the wall, their ears attentive to any sounds. All they heard was a great deal of splashing and cursing from below stairs.

The box was exactly where she'd left it, sitting on the window ledge to one side. She was surprised that Tipper had forgotten it. If she had overheard the bit about Jareth's gloves, surely she'd overheard the bit about Sarah's, but perhaps the contents of the box posed had not concerned her since she'd seen Sarah banished from the underground. Whatever the reason, it was still there, and Sarah wasted no time lifting the lid. The gloves lay undisturbed on the scarlet velvet.

She had one glove on when a voice stopped her.

'Tipper knew you'd be back for them.'

It was Tipper's voice. She whirled around and nearly gaped at the sight of her former maid. The creature confronting her was taller than it had been and much slimmer. It wore a beautiful blue ball gown with puffed sleeves, and it's hair was long and blonde, just like Rapunzel's, but it's face, well, it was Tipper's alright, flat, green and ugly.

'Tipper,' Sarah said slowly, 'what's happened to you?'

'The Dark Queen kept her promise. Tipper's a princess with ball gowns and long, blonde hair.' Tipper said flatly, dully. 'But Tipper's not beautiful because she said Tipper didn't ask to be beautiful.'

'Oh, Tipper.' Sarah said sadly. 'You should have never trusted her.'

'Tipper would rather be a goblin again than be like this.' The goblin princess declared. 'That's why Tipper left the gloves behind. Tipper knew you'd be back, and then you could turn Tipper back into a goblin.'

Sarah knew that she ought to be furious with the little goblin, but when she looked at the ugly face upon the beautiful body, she could only feel pity, and now she felt even worse because she knew she could not grant the goblin's request.

'I'm sorry, Tipper, but I can't undo what Morwenna has already done. I can only turn you into something else…or at least I can try.' Sarah glanced at the glove she held. 'I'm not really sure how these things work yet.'

'I'd rather be anything but this.' Tipper said. 'A toad, a slug, a mushroom…'

'How about a dwarf?' Hoggle suggested from the doorway.

'Or a dog.' Toby offered. 'You could come back home with me. I've always wanted a dog.'

Tipper looked from one to the other.

'Well, Tipper,' Sarah asked, 'what will it be?'

'You'd do this for Tipper even after what Tipper did?'

'What's done is done. We all make mistakes, and I think you've suffered enough.'

Tipper's bottom lip trembled. 'Tipper chooses to be a dwarf.'

'Ok.' Sarah said, pulling on the other glove. 'You two stand back.'

Hoggle and Toby moved to a safe distance while Sarah wiggled her fingers experimentally. Once again she felt the power running through them. She imagined a crystal and one appeared, hovering within the cradle of her hands. She tossed it back and forth as Jareth had taught her to do. Then she threw it at Tipper, imaging a dwarf as she did so.

There was a shimmer and whirl of blue and gold and then Tipper stood before them, looking very much like Hoggle except with blonde pigtails and decidedly less hairy eyebrows. Not bad for a first try, Sarah thought, admiring her new gloves. This power thing could get addictive.

'Sarah?

She looked down at Tipper. 'Yes?'

'Here.' The goblin/dwarf removed a wad of black fabric from her pocket, holding it out. 'Jareth's gloves.'

Sarah took them, turning them this way and that, examining them carefully. They _looked_ like Jareth's gloves, but how did Tipper come to be in possession of them?

'I thought you gave these to the Dark Queen.' She finally said.

'Tipper did.' The goblin/dwarf agreed. 'But Tipper's not stupid. When she turned Tipper into an ugly princess, Tipper took them back.'

'But how?'

'Same way Tipper took them from Goblin King. When Queen was asleep, Tipper exchanged them with ordinary pair.'

'Tipper, you're brilliant.' Sarah declared before turning to Toby, holding out the gloves. 'Take these to Jareth.'

'Don't you want to deliver them yourself?' Toby asked, accepting the gloves with some doubt.

'No,' Sarah said, 'I'm staying for the coronation. Someone has to hold the fort until the Calvary arrives.'

Although the expression had Hoggle and Tipper looked at each other blankly, Toby knew exactly what she meant, and he smiled broadly. 'Aye, Aye, Captain. Just one question. How do I get there? You sent the lions away.'

Sarah removed the heart from around her neck and put it on Toby. It was nearly gray again. 'Hold it in your hand and ask it to take you to Jareth. Once you put the gloves back on him, you can rescue your friend, Merib.'

'Right.' Toby said, grasping the heart in one hand and saying loudly and clearly. 'Take me to Jareth.'

He disappeared before their eyes.

'Now,' Sarah said, turning to Hoggle and Tipper, 'we prepare to meet the Dark Queen.'


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

_I'll Be There for You_

It had taken a lot of time and energy, both of which she'd been short on, but she'd done it. She had organized the defense of the Goblin City, and now they waited on the city wall, eyes fixed to the west where Morwenna's procession could be seen, slowly weaving its way across the still smoldering ruins of the labyrinth. For once the goblins were at attention. Amazing what necessity could do, Sarah mused. They wouldn't fight to keep a stolen baby, but they would fight to maintain their right to avoid bath water.

'Shall I sound the alarm, milady?' Sir Didymus asked with a lift of his furry brows.

'No, not yet. Not until we see the whites of their eyes.'

'Ah…quite.' Didymus said somewhat dubiously.

The procession kept coming. Sarah's fingers curled into fists as Morwenna's bright head came into view. She was standing within a silver chariot pulled by fierce-looking black bears that lifted their heads and bellowed periodically. Behind her marched three columns of wood elves, their copper hair and skin a sharp contrast to her own fairness, while flying monkeys swooped and wheeled like WWII fighter planes. She's coming out with her army, Sarah thought. Not sure of her welcome perhaps?

Finally, when the chariot was within a few yards of the city gate, Sarah nodded to Sir Didymus who in turned nodded to Hoggle who in turn nodded to Rum-Pot who ordered the goblins to open the gate. It creaked opened, and Morwenna and her army swept inside like a crimson tidal wave.

'Close them.' Sarah ordered.

The gates banged shut much to Morwenna's displeasure. She whirled in her chariot, her eyes searching the wall.

'Who ordered those gates closed?' She demanded.

'I did.' Sarah declared, detaching herself from the safety of the wall.

She stood in plain sight of the army below, legs spread apart, hands on hips, the breeze blowing her long, dark hair to one side like a banner. She looked and felt like some 17th century pirate. All she needed was a cutlass to wave. Hopefully she could be just as ruthless as Anne Bonny.

Morwenna looked momentarily taken aback, almost as if she'd seen a ghost, but she quickly recovered. 'So you've returned. I thought you were smarter than that, Sarah Williams. I was generous before, very generous. I won't be so again. I suggest you leave here at once or you and your friends,' her eyes flicked to the goblins cowering along the wall, 'shall feel my wrath, and I assure you, it isn't very pleasant.'

'This is my city, Morwenna.' Sarah stated, staring down at her with fierce green eyes. 'And you are trespassing in it. If anyone's going to leave, it'll be you, not me.'

'_Your city?_' Morwenna said with a laugh. 'Now that's funny. That really is. Perhaps you had such illusions when Jareth reigned over this miserable little scab heap, but you have no claim to this kingdom now. Jareth is dead or will be very shortly. There is no Goblin King.'

'Whether or not there's a Goblin King is yet to be seen.' Sarah allowed. 'Either way that doesn't negate the fact that you're trespassing, and if you want this kingdom, you're going to have to take it.'

'Take it from who?' Morwenna scoffed. 'A bunch of smelly goblins?'

'_From the Goblin Queen.'_

Sarah's voice snapped like a whip across the silent city. If she knew more about how the gloves operated, she might have added a few thunderbolts for good measure. Morwenna, however, did not look impressed. She stared at Sarah with cold, green eyes.

'To be queen,' she finally said, 'you must have power, and without Jareth, you are nothing but a human. I can crush you as easily as I can crush a bug.'

'You're welcome to try.'

There was a hush as goblins and elves waited for the Dark Queen's response. Sarah had thrown down the gauntlet. Would Morwenna pick it up? Would she call Sarah's bluff, if bluff it was?

'I haven't got time for this nonsense.' Morwenna declared with a toss of her silver head. 'My coronation has been delayed long enough.'

And with that she set her chariot in motion once again.

Sarah lifted a hand and a crystal appeared, glinting in the pale light. She drew back and lobbed it at Morwenna's chariot. Suddenly the bears that'd been pulling were no longer quite as fierce-looking as they'd once been. Two black chickens stood in their place, clucking and scratching the ground. The goblins on the wall giggled, and one brave soul produced a pea shooter, which he used to ping the chickens. With a flurry of feathers, they disappeared into the Goblin City, squawking all the way.

Morwenna slowly turned around, and Sarah could tell she'd finally gotten the Dark Queen's attention. She looked furious. Nevertheless when she spoke, her voice was as cold as ice.

'You are seriously annoying me, Sarah Williams.' She said, fingering the green gem around her neck. 'A few parlor tricks are no match for my power. Do you have any idea how close you are to becoming a…' her voice trailed off as Sarah slowly raised her hands.

'Recognize these?'

Morwenna's hand went to her belt. 'They're not his.'

'No,' Sarah agreed, 'they're mine.'

'What game are you playing?' Morwenna demanded.

'It's no game.' Sarah told her. 'I am not Goblin Queen by wish or by marriage. I am Goblin Queen by _power._'

Morwenna's face, so perfectly controlled until now, dissolved into a mask of pure hatred. 'Why you little…' she looked at the elves standing in front of her. 'What are you waiting for? Kill them!' She screamed. 'Kill every single one of them! Don't stop until there's not goblin left in the underground! Exterminate them all!'

The wood elves surged forward.

'Now!' Sarah shouted to Sir Didymus who pulled out a sword and shouted 'CHARGE!' The goblins, however, didn't charge. Instead they tipped over large vats of soapy, hot bath water. It poured down on the elves below, knocking a few off their feet, soaking all. Pumpkins followed, shot into the air by cannons. The goblins cheered as flying monkeys broke rank, a few of them even falling to the ground covered in pumpkin seeds.

And thus began the Battle of Goblin City.

Jareth lay on the floor of the dungeon. He no longer had the strength to hold himself upright. The aging process has accelerated to a speed he'd not been expecting, and he knew he only had a few hours, perhaps minutes left.

He looked at the hand lying in the light streaming through the window. It looked like a claw, withered and curled. He knew the rest of his body looked the same, bent and drawn in upon itself from old age. His clothes hung on him, and he imagined that if someone stood him upright he'd make a good scarecrow. Age was destroying him. Morwenna had chosen her weapon well. And this time Sarah had failed. Time had run out.

Sarah, he thought, smiling a little. At least he would die with the knowledge that this extraordinary woman had found a way to love a Goblin King. His only regret was that he hadn't lived long enough to find out what it would have been like to be loved by her, to live life without the crushing loneliness that had been with him for as long as he could remember.

'Mr...er…Goblin King?' A voice said.

If he'd had enough energy, he would have jumped. He'd not been expecting a voice, especially not a young, male voice. He squinted trying to bring the form into focus. His eyes had failed him long ago.

'What is it?' He rasped, his voice barely audible. 'Who are you?'

'I'm Toby.'

'Toby.' He searched what was left of his memory. 'You're the baby. Sarah's brother.'

'Yeah.' Toby agreed, 'I'm the kid you stole.'

'At your sister's request.'

'Yeah, she told me that too.'

The boy sounded sulky, and Jareth didn't have time for sulks.

'What are you doing here?'

'I've come to return something you lost.'

He felt the boy take his outstretched hand. Then he felt soft leather being forced upon his gnarled fingers. As soon as the glove was in place, energy surged from his fingers, speeding down his arm and into his body. He curled his fingers, and they no longer felt stiff and painful. Eagerly, he stretched out his other hand, and the boy gloved it as well.

He lay still for a moment or two, feeling the power, the energy flowing through him like an electrical current. His breathing became strong and steady, and the pain, the weariness seeped away as though it had never been. Finally, he rose and stared down at the boy who he could now see clearly. He had Sarah's nose.

Toby took a step backwards. The Goblin King was intimidating, frightening even, now that he was no longer on the floor, curled up like an old corn husk.

'Where's your sister?' He demanded.

Even his voice sent shivers of fright down Toby's back. How could Sarah love this man? He scared the beejeebers out of Toby.

'At…at the Goblin Castle.' He stammered.

'Why didn't she come herself?'

The question was sharp and demanded an answer.

'She's holding the fort until the Calvary comes.'

'I shall never understand modern colloquialisms.' Jareth muttered to no one in particular before demanding, 'Come, boy, say it in plain English.'

'Well, I'm not exactly sure.' Toby admitted. 'But I think it means that she's going to stop the coronation until you show up to take over.'

'Coronation?' Jareth asked. 'What coronation?'

'The Dark Queen is coming to get crowned Goblin Queen, I guess. But I don't think she likes goblins much since she's making them all take baths.'

Jareth scowled. 'Let's go.'

He had the boy by his shirt, dragging him from the cell just as he would a goblin.

'Just a minute!' Toby protested. 'Sarah said after I gave you the gloves, I could let Merib out.'

Jareth stopped and stared down at the boy in his most intimidating manner. '_Who _is Merib?'

'My friend. She's a water sprite I met in the water back home. She lives by a pond in the Dark Wood.'

'You and your sisters get too attached to friends that you meet in this place.' Jareth declared irritably, but then said. 'Very well. Go get her. But you'll have to find another way back to the castle. I can't carry both of you, not when I have work to do.'

'No problem.' Toby said. 'I'll just use the heart again.'

Jareth didn't bother to answer. He just folded his arms about himself and dissolved into shower of sparkling light. Toby watched in amazement as a large white owl circled him once and then disappeared down the stone corridor

'Cool!'

Sarah wondered how they were doing. It was difficult to tell with goblins, monkeys, elves and chickens running all over the place. If she had to make a guess, she'd say they were holding their own, and that was better than she had hoped for when she'd started this battle. All she'd wanted to do was stop the coronation, giving Jareth time to reclaim his throne.

She didn't pretend to know how to use the gloves he'd given her. So far she'd only managed to turn things into chickens much to the delight of the goblins who considered another chicken a good thing. No one else seemed particularly impressed. She and the goblins might be able to defeat the monkeys and elves, but as for Morwenna, well, her defeat would have to come at the hands of Jareth.

Where was he, she asked herself for about the one hundredth time. Surely Toby had been in time. Surely Jareth wasn't…her heart skipped a beat…dead. She glanced up at the sky, searching for the all knowing stars. Surely they knew. Unfortunately, they remained hidden by a sun that seemed reluctant to depart. It clung stubbornly to the horizon, coloring the sky a warm orange.

'Sarah!' Hoggle exclaimed, running up to her. 'She's gone!'

Sarah knew exactly who he meant. She searched the ward of the city, looking for the bright head, and found nothing but goblins, chickens, monkeys and elves. Then she saw a streak of white, moving fast.

'We must be doing better than I thought.' Sarah muttered. 'She's turned herself into the cat.'

As she watched the cat leapt onto the wall, ran along it to the gate and then paused, looking back over its shoulder at the melee below. Then it turned and crouched down as though to jump.

'Stop her!' Sarah cried, starting to run. 'Don't let her get away!'

As though it had heard Sarah's cry, the cat once again looked back, staring at Sarah with slanted green eyes, and then it was gone, snatched from the wall by sharp talons. Sarah watched, open-mouthed as the great white owl soared up into the sky with the cat before banking sharply and heading back toward the wall at an amazing speed. Just as it was about to fly over the wall, it released the cat.

There was sickening thud and the cat fell to the ground, unmoving. In a flash, the owl was on it, talons tearing, clawing. Sarah turned away, not wanting to see 'the kill'.

'You can open your eyes now, Sarah.' A familiar voice said.

She opened them. Jareth was standing in front of her, looking as he had the first time she'd seen him. This time she didn't draw back. This time he didn't frighten her. This time he looked like the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen, mocking smile and all.

'I have a gift for you.'

'What is it?'

'Just a crystal.' He took her hand in his and placed a green gem on her palm.

She looked up at him inquiringly.

'She's not dead if that's what you're asking.' He told her. 'But she might as well be. Without that gem, she can't return to her original form. She'll spend the rest of her days prowling the Wood as a cat.'

'So it's over.'

Jareth tugged on the hand he still held, pulling her close. 'No, my dove, it's just beginning.'

'Aw, yuk,' Toby's voice said from behind them, 'it figures I'd get here just in time for the kissing.'

***SCENE CHANGE***

'Hold still.' Hoggle growled.

'I don't need you to dress me.' Jareth growled back. 'I've been dressing myself, quite magnificently I might add, for the past two hundred years.'

'And you can do so for the next two hundred as far as I'm concerned.' Hoggle retorted. 'But today you'll stand still. And don't go threatening me with the bog.' The dwarf added when he saw the mutinous look on Jareth's face. 'You're supposed to be working on being a more benevolent dictator, remember?'

Jareth snorted and allowed the dwarf assisted by Rum-Blotch and Babu to settle the midnight blue cape across his shoulders. He itched to send the dwarf to the bottom of the bog but restrained himself. Not this day, he told himself. This day he'd promised to be on his best behavior for Sarah's sake. Even if it meant being poked and prodded into his clothing by Higgle and company.

'There!' Hoggle declared, stepping back to view his creation. 'You're ready.'

'Can I move now?' Jareth asked sarcastically.

'If you think you can do so without ruining all my hard work.'

Jareth turned with a snap of his heels and stalked over to the window. Beyond lay the Goblin City, looking cleaner and neater than it ever had, and beyond that the labyrinth, rebuilt bigger and better than before. Someone had even strung garlands of flowers, intermixed with a great deal of chicken feathers, along the walls and streets. It was a city ready to go down in underground history. Today the first Goblin King ever would take a queen.

The door to the chamber burst open and Sir Didymus sashayed in, dressed in his finest, an enormous ostrich feather stuck in his hat. He bowed low when he saw Jareth standing by the window.

'My liege!' He exclaimed. 'Your lady awaits hither.'

Jareth wasted no time striding across the room and out the door where he found Sarah, dressed in a glorious dress of ivory lace, waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Tipper and the water sprite, Merib, stood nearby, holding bouquets of red and white flowers.

He held out his arm, and Sarah placed her gloved hand on it. Then they turned and walked down the steps, their retinue following. They met Toby at the door of the castle, looking very important in his cutaway jacket and pantaloons. He held the door for them and they passed outside into the sunshine where goblins, griffins, winged lions and various other creatures of the labyrinth were gathered at the bottom of the castle steps.

They turned and found the old man with the bird hat waiting for them. He cleared his throat.

'Welcome to the opening of…'

'No, no,' the bird hat hissed, 'not that one. The other one.'

'Eh?' The old man said, looking upwards.

'The other one!' The bird snapped. 'It's a weddind, not a ball game.'

'Eh?'

The bird sighed tremendously and then looked at Jareth and Sarah. 'We are gathered here today to unite this King and this lady…'

Beyond the castle, on the gate of the city sat a white cat, twitching its tail as it stared with fierce green eyes at the happy throng that erupted into cheers at the pronouncement of King and wife. The sigh of such joy sickened the cat. Why should _he_ be so happy? Why should _he_ get everything he ever wanted? And the cat's heart seethed with hatred.

**SCENE CHANGE**

'Toby,' Sarah said a week after the wedding, 'it's time for you to go home.'

'Why?' Toby asked. 'You're staying here. Why can't I?'

'You have several years of school left.' She reminded him. 'And maybe college after that.'

'College?' He scoffed. 'Who needs college? None of the goblins can read, and they do just fine.'

'You're not a goblin.'

'But I want to stay.' Toby protested, looking mutinous.

'Your mother will miss you. So will Dad.'

'They don't even know I'm gone.' He told her. 'That goblin Jareth put in my place is doing great. He's going to school for me and everything.'

'He's also getting into a lot of trouble.' Sarah pointed out. 'Trouble that the real Toby would have never gotten into. It's starting to worry your mother.'

'She just thinks I'm going through the terrible teens early.'

'Toby,' Sarah said more sternly, 'you're going back.'

'But what about Merib?'

'She's not going anywhere. She'll be here when you come back.'

'Will I come back?'

'If you want to. But not until you finish school.'

'Aw, heck.' Toby said, kicking the ground with the toe of his sneaker. 'That's a gazillion years from now.'

'Don't exaggerate.' She held out her hand. 'Come on, let's go.'

He shoved his hands in his pockets. 'Can't I say goodbye to Jareth first?'

'I thought he scared you.'

'He does.' Toby said. 'But it's a nice kind of scared. You know what I mean?'

She smiled. 'Yeah, I think I do.' Then she turned serious again. 'There's no use delaying, Toby. It's time to go back.'

Finally Toby admitted defeat, hanging his head and putting his hand in hers. Almost instantly they were back in his bedroom.

'Goodbye, Tobes.' Sarah said, giving him a hug. 'Thanks for everything.'

Toby felt tears gathering in his eyes. 'Don't forget me.'

'I never could.' Sarah said, giving his hair a tousle before turning and walking over to the window.

'Toby!' His mother said from the doorway. 'What are you doing up here? You're supposed to be downstairs doing your homework. Do I have to ground you again?'

'No, mom.' He said, his eyes on the graceful white dove winging its way toward the moon. 'I'll be right down.'

**SCENE CHANGE**

Sarah jumped as a pair of arms slid around her waist. She'd been staring out the window at the moon, deep in thought.

'Still frightened of me?' Jareth asked, kissing her neck.

'Of course not.' She said, leaning back against him. 'I was just thinking. That's all.'

'About Toby?'

She nodded. 'He didn't want to go back.'

'Then you did you take him?'

She turned in Jareth's arms so she could look up at him, her expression one of reproach. 'How can you ask that? He's only in the 5th grade. He's got several years of school left.'

'Why make him go to school at all?' Jareth asked. 'It won't do him much good when he's Goblin King.'

'But he's not Goblin King.'

'He will be.' He smiled when he saw the questioningly look in her eyes. 'Yes, Sarah, Toby will be my heir. I chose him ten years ago. Of course, I had every intention of giving him back to you. I had no use for a baby. He's no good to me until he's eighteen or so. Then he can go into training. One needs to know how to use those gloves. Can't have chickens all over the place. Still,' he murmured, ignoring her look of indignation, 'if the boy wanted to stay, I've no objection. He could start training early. Then I could abdicate and we could go beyond the sea.'

'What's beyond the sea?'

She couldn't stop herself asking despite her outrage at that crack about chickens.

He smiled that pointy-toothed smile. 'A whole another world.'

Her eyes lit up. 'Sounds wonderful.'

'It is.'

'But aren't you forgetting something?'

'No,' Jareth said, tilting his head to one side as though in thought, 'I don't think so.'

'What happens to Toby if we have a child?'

He looked at her sternly. 'A child has never been born to a Goblin King.'

'A Goblin King has never had a wife before.'

'Are you trying to tell me something, my dove?'

'No, not yet.' She said. 'But these things need to be considered. I don't want to get Toby's hopes up if our son is going to supplant him.'

'A son.' Jareth murmured, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth. 'What a novel idea.' He reached out, touching Sarah's hair. 'However, I think I'd prefer a daughter, one with her mother's black hair and legendary willpower.'

'Jareth,' she said, giving him a little shake, 'be serious.'

'I didn't know I wasn't.'

'What will become of Toby?'

He sighed. 'In the underground, the possibilities are limitless, but if you're bent on him being royalty, we could always make him King of the Dark Wood. That position is currently available. Hogwart wasn't exactly thrilled when I made him governor of the place. I think the little scab prefers spraying faeries for a bob a head.'

Sarah shivered at the mention of the Dark Wood. It was still a wild, dark, dangerous place even with Hoggle as its interim ruler. But it wasn't really the Wood itself that cause the shiver. It was its former queen. She was still out there, somewhere.

'I don't like having that gem so near at hand.' She said. 'Morwenna might find a way to get it back.'

'Morwenna defeated.' Jareth stated. 'She won't bother us again.'

'Don't underestimate her, Jareth.' Sarah cautioned. 'She nearly killed you.'

The Goblin King paused, considering his queen's warning. He had no concern himself. Even if Morwenna got the gem back, she was no match for both of them. Sarah was growing stronger and stronger each day under his tutelage. There hadn't been chickens for some time. Yet, he looked at his wife, noting her obvious concern. The Goblin King wanted to order her to stop worrying, but the slave wanted to sooth her fears. The slave as it often did these days won out.

'If it makes you feel any better,' he said, looking down at her with indulgent eyes, 'I'll put the gem somewhere she will never find it.'

'Where?' She asked eagerly.

'In the aboveground, of course.'

Sarah looked dubious. The aboveground in some respects was an even more unpredictable than the underground. 'Are you sure it'll be safe there?'

'Without the gem she can't go from here to there. It'll be well beyond her reach.'

Even though she wasn't totally convinced as he was, she accepted his authority on the matter. 'Thank you, Jareth. I'll be much happier with it gone.'

'Now that that's settled,' he said, suddenly bending and sweeping her up into his arms, 'I'd like to start working on another historical first.'

'Oh, and what would that be?'

'On the first Goblin Princess. Do you think you're up to the task, my dove?'

'I will endeavor to give it my full attention.'

'I'm very glad to hear it.' He murmured, sinking into the bed with her. '_Very _glad to hear it.'

And that night the Goblin City experienced another first. For the first time a Goblin King was happy, joyously happy, and that made everyone, goblin and chicken alike, sleep much sounder.

**THE END**


End file.
